My Wayward Friends
by PosionQuill
Summary: Just a group of good friends from the Disney and Dreamworks worlds and their adventures at Hogwarts! Starring Hiccup, Jack Frost, Merida, Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa as they go through their teenage lives. Mix up secrets, drama, love, friendship and a dash of magic! What could possibly go wrong...? Rated K just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone!**

**I just thought I'd let you know that I'm just gonna be making most of the story up as I go along, so I can't guarantee any set times for updates. I'll try not to abandon the story for ages and draw it out, but we'll have to see.**

**Thanks for reading, and I'd like to hear what you guys think :3**

**This should be interesting….**

**Many hugs, The Panda**

[Hiccup's P.O.V]

I hadn't really been able to sleep much last night. I guess I was too excited to.

It was finally September, which meant I'd be able to see my friends again. Well, the ones I could only meet at school, anyway.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry isn't really as well-known as you'd expect. In fact, my village is the only one for miles that has witches or wizards living there.

Though, to be fair, it's the only village for miles anyway.

Berk is a small island, meaning mine is the only little town there, so really it's no surprise. Besides, the location isn't exactly a tropical paradise, to be honest. I've wondered why our ancestors would make their home on the edge of a freezing, dark island, and why we've decided to stay here. But we're Vikings. And we have…stubbornness issues…

I'm Hiccup, by the way. I should have said that first, shouldn't I? I'm not really good at introductions, sorry…

I'm also a Viking. Yep. I know, I don't look it. Vikings are meant to be tall, scary, and not dorky or awkward in any way. But I guess that's just me.

Nearly everyone in my family has been in Gryffindor (for obvious reasons), but I think I'm one of the first Ravenclaws in my family. At least I wasn't put in Hufflepuff – that wouldn't have gone down too well with my dad. He was shocked enough when he found out I wouldn't be in the same house as nearly every other magical Viking in our family. But by this point I think he's gotten used to me being…not like everyone else.

I heard a tapping at the window of my room. Was someone throwing stones?

I got up from my bed, bracing myself for the icy gust of wind waiting to meet me as soon as I opened my window (still under the assault of the tiny pebbles).

I threw the small glass door open, and the gale rushed into my room immediately.

"Hey! You're up!" Someone called out. I blocked the wind from my face with my hand and looked down to where the voice called out. "Are you gonna stay up there sleeping, or are you gonna get up? I don't wanna miss the train!"

It was my old friend, Jack.

Jack Frost is…well, he isn't from around here. He's not a Viking, that's for sure. He's in no way similar in shape or size to everyone else in my village (but he's still taller than me, not that that's very difficult though.)

He lives not too far from my village, and he's been my friend since I was little – well, littl_er_. He's one of the only people I know who lives around here who isn't a Gryffindor – he actually got sorted into Slytherin. Well, he'd have to be cunning to pull off all those pranks he sets up around Berk. And there's one other thing about him, it's something only I know about – he has this unique affinity for ice and snow. Neither of us knows why, but his magic has always had some link to snow. I don't think it's something he wants everyone to know about, I mean, nobody else has this ability. _In the entire school._ And not everyone is accepting of stuff they don't know about, even witches and wizards. Even out of our group of friends, I'm the only one he told.

Before he could throw any more rocks up at the window (because it wouldn't be surprising if he did), I called back, "Okay, okay! I'm coming!"

I already had my things packed, so after I got changed into my robes, I dragged the case down the stairs.

"So, yer off, then?" asked my dad, Stoick, with a strong Norse accent (something I hadn't picked up when I was learning to speak, along with a lot of other stuff).

"Yeah, Jack's outside, so I wouldn't want to keep him waiting." My dad knew about Jack, and surprisingly didn't hate him that much, "you know how he gets when he has to wait."

"Aye, well…" He got up and put his massive hand on my shoulder, "Have fun at Hogwarts, son. And try not to blow anything – or anyone – up this year."

"We can't make any promises, sir!" Jack suddenly appeared by my side (how did he get in?!). He hooked me by my neck using his stick and pulled me out of the house, waving goodbye to Stoick.

"Ha, ha, ha! This year's gonna be awesome! I can feel it!" Jack exclaimed happily. He was excited at the beginning of the year – even more excited than me, I sometimes think. He hadn't tidied up his white hair - at least, it didn't look like he had. And he was still wearing his usual blue hoodie over his school jumper, balancing the slender stick on his shoulders. Typical Jack Frost. "You didn't forget your wand, did you?" I asked him.

Smirking, he reached into his hoodie pocket, and threw it up into the air, catching it with his other hand. "Don't worry; I'm not as forgetful as you!" He nudged me with his elbow, and I nudged him back.

Well, Jack was right about one thing.

This was going to be a good year.

That's what I'm hoping, anyway.

We arrived at Platform 9 ¾ and waited for the rest of our group to arrive. The station was crowded with other students, most of them with their parents and/or siblings. I remember when Jack and I were in 1st year; that was…interesting, to say the least. Now, just a few years later, it felt kind of funny to see the new 1st years arriving, about to start Hogwarts for the first time. I still find it hard to believe everyone in our year (6th year, to be specific) used to be that short, too (well, I don't think I grew that much, if I'm honest).

"Hey, it's 'Punzie!" Jack pointed out a small girl in the crowd, with round green eyes and golden hair that came down to her ankles.

It was Rapunzel, one of our friends. She was a Ravenclaw now in 3rd year, with a mother who was just a little over-protective. Okay, _very_ overprotective. She never let Rapunzel visit us or let us visit her, so we only got to see her at school. But despite that, we ended up becoming close friends with her. We met her through her and Jack's love of Quidditch – she didn't play it herself (her mother wouldn't let her join the school team), but she told us that she was interested in the theory of it. I felt a bit sorry for her, for not being allowed to do anything without her mom's permission, but she's only looking out for Rapunzel, right?

Said mother had pulled Rapunzel into a tight hug, so tight it looked uncomfortable, like she didn't want to let her go. Then, she seemed to go over something with her daughter, but Rapunzel looked like she'd heard it a million times before.

Jack hurried over to her, and I followed quickly. As we got closer, we heard a little of what they were saying to each other.

"Oh, Rapunzel, how could such a little thing like you manage to pack such an awful amount of things?" Her mother said to her.

"Oh, it's nothing!" she replied with a little blush, "There's not much stuff, really…"

"Then I don't see why it always takes so long~!" her mother replied in a sing-song voice, making Rapunzel's blush fade away slightly.

Rapunzel's mother looked at us in surprise as we greeted our younger friend, and immediately asked her daughter, "and who would _they_ be?"

She turned to her mom, and said happily, "this is Hiccup and Jack, the friends I told you about!"

The black-haired woman looked us up and down, and pulled Rapunzel aside. We stood there somewhat awkwardly as she and Rapunzel continued to quietly talk back and forth, only hearing a few words of the conversation. Then, her mother stood up straight, and said with a frown, "Very well. If that's how you feel. I'll expect your letter to home in the next few days." And without so much as a goodbye, she sauntered off.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"My mother doesn't really like me hanging around with boys. Or people in other years, or houses." She shrugged slightly. "You know what she's like."

"Yeah, but still…" Jack scratched his head as he trailed off, before changing the subject. "Have you seen Merida yet?"

"Nah, she should be here at any moment, though. She's never late." Then, she reached into her robes and pulled out a small chameleon with giant eyes. "It's okay, Pascal, she's gone now." The lizard seemed to smile at her, as he jumped gleefully up her arm and settled on her shoulder, turning the same colour as her robes. She turned to us, "She won't let me keep any pets, so Pascal has to be kept a secret from her, okay?" she grinned.

Jack laughed, and I said, "don't worry, we won't tell her. _Will we, Jack_?"

"Well, I don't know…" he teased, leaning against his walking stick, "you know it's really bad to keep secrets from your parents…"

"Jack, please!" She took the bait, as he had planned, "if she finds out, who knows what she'd do to poor little Pascal!"

I had expected Rapunzel to fall for his teasing again, but I don't think any of us expected Pascal to suddenly leap from Rapunzel's shoulder like a lizard from Hell and bite onto Jack's nose.

"GAAAA! GET IT OFF MEEE!" He wailed, flapping his hands onto his face. It didn't help much as the surrounding witches, wizards and parents of the muggleborn kids turned to watch Jack helplessly flail about at the mercy of a very angry lizard.

Rapunzel stood there giggling, and while normally I would have helped Jack, this time he had been asking for it. Besides, it was too funny watching him running around with Pascal clomping down on his face.

Suddenly, a blur of fiery red hair tackled Jack to the ground, peeling Pascal off his face.

"I got 'im! I got the wee devil!" Merida called out triumphantly, holding Pascal within her closed fist. His tail uncoiled and poked out of her hand as she got up off of Jack, laughing at the mayhem he and the small chameleon had caused.

She tossed Pascal to Rapunzel as I helped Jack up, still laughing.

"Oh, thanks _so much_ for helping, Hiccup!" He yelled sarcastically.

"What was I supposed to do?" I asked, still cracking up.

"You were attacked by a lizard, Jack!" Merida roared, "Not even at school yet an' you're already making a fool outta yerself!"

"Oh shut up." He grumbled, but all that did was make her laugh even more.

Then the Gryffindor girl turned to me and grabbed my head before I could pull away, knowing what was coming. Putting me into a crushing headlock, she said to me "how's my wee Viking been, then?!"

"Ugh…I'd be better if I could breathe, Merida…." I managed to mutter, feeling the circulation of blood being cut off under her strength.

"Aw, don' be like that!" she grinned as she finally let go of me, "I've missed you lot! Speaking of which, where's our little princess?"

The last person in our group hadn't arrived yet, which struck me as odd.

Rapunzel reasoned with a smile, "Maybe she already got into the train; she'll find us eventually."

"Yeah," Jack dusted himself off, "Maybe we should get on now, before all the booths are taken."

"Fer such a wee thing, you sure can eat a bunch." Merida pointed to Rapunzel, whose lap was covered in sweets she purchased from the trolley lady.

"Mother doesn't really let me have sweets and stuff," She said as she un-wrapped another magical toffee piece.

"Just don't eat it all in one go," I pointed out, as I sat opposite her. "You'll end up getting a stomach ache."

"Don't worry, Mother Hen! She won't!" Jack laughed, lightly punching me in the arm.

As they laughed, I looked anxiously to the door of our booth. The last member of our group still hadn't shown her face…

"Oh!"

I looked over to Rapunzel; a chocolate frog had jumped out of its box before she could grab it. But Pascal noticed it jumping about, and pounced onto it, in the same way he had pounced onto Jack's face earlier (I don't think he'll live that down for a very long time…)

"Does he do that to anything that moves?" Merida asked jokingly.

"Sometimes…" Rapunzel replied, taking the chocolate frog from under Pascal, who had turned a light brown to match the chocolate.

Merida thought about this for a moment, and took her wand out. Suddenly, big bubbles of various shapes and sizes erupted from the tip of it, attracting the lizard's attention. Immediately, he began jumping to and fro, trying to seize the bubbles and looking shocked and confused when they popped in his little lizard hands.

It was enjoyable watching him bounce around trying to get the bubbles, and I was certain that students several booths away from us could hear us laughing and shouting "get him to do a flip!"

That was when the last member of our friendship circle finally found us, and she barged in without a moment's hesitation.

"Hey! What's everyone laughing about?!" Anna jumped in, her plaited pigtails swishing as she turned to look at us all.

"Anna!" Rapunzel brushed the candies off her lap with one swish of her hand and the two girls – the youngest in our groups, as they were both in the same year – gave each other what looked like a crushing hug. "We were worried about you, silly!"

"Ha, ha! Sorry, but it's just that I have super-great news!" She told us excitedly. "You know how I have a sister in Beauxbatons?"

"Your older sister?" Merida sat up, more interested now. "What about her?"

"Well…." Anna was nearly shaking with excitement as she blurted out, "she's been transferred here! Everyone, this is my sister…" she momentarily stepped out of view, and came back in clutching her sister's elbow, "…Elsa!"

The girl she brought in was a head taller than her, already changed into Slytherin robes (maybe she had been sorted privately because she joined so late?), and was quite pretty to be fair, and had put her hair into a braided bun. She looked smart and neat next to Anna, whose tie had been done up scruffily and her plaits were slightly uneven when you took a closer look. The only thing I noticed about her that was out of the ordinary was that she still wore gloves with the rest of her uniform. Well, maybe it wasn't that unusual; she hadn't even sat down yet, anyway.

She stood slightly behind Anna, like she was trying to hide herself from view. But then, Elsa stepped out from behind her younger sister, looked up from the ground, and smiled slightly at us. "Good morning," she said, "I'm Elsa."

"Great to meet you, Elsa!" Merida jumped up and gave Elsa her famous bear-hug which no-one we know has ever been able to wriggle out of. Poor Elsa.

I turned to Jack, only to see that he was just staring at her silently.

"Hey," I nudged him quietly, "stop goggling her, it's weird."

"I was not!" he whispered back quickly. Too quickly.

I regarded him as Rapunzel gave Elsa a looser hug, "you don't have a crush do you?" I smirked.

"What? No!"

He did.

Then, to top it off, Elsa went and sat in between me and Jack while Anna sat next to Merida, by the window. From this angle, I realized that she was a couple of inches taller than him, making her the tallest in our group as well as the newest. She looked over to him, and he immediately tried to regain his usual cocky attitude.

"Hey, I'm Jack Frost." He smiled, holding out his hand.

She hesitated for a moment, before slowly giving him her hand, "it's nice to meet you, Jack."

"And the dorky one is Hiccup." Anna joked. I would have protested, but to be fair she was right.

"That's an interesting name," She commented.

"Yeah, well, Vikings usually give their children ugly names so trolls aren't tempted to steal them." I explained with a shrug.

Before she could say anything else, Pascal jumped over and landed on her lap. A small scream of surprise escaped her, and suddenly the icy wind outside picked up and blasted loudly just outside the window, making me jump slightly. We all turned to the window, watching as snow began to mix in with the air.

"The wind's picking up again," Jack stated, and turned to Elsa (with Pascal still on her lap). Concerned, he asked, "Elsa, what's wrong? You okay?"

"Uh – no, I'm fine, I just feel a little sick. I'll be okay." She laughed it off.

"Do you want some water or something?" Anna asked, leaning over slightly.

"No, no, don't worry." She shook her head.

We left it at that, and Merida and Rapunzel began to ask about Beauxbatons, but I couldn't help but get a bit of a sinking feeling. I didn't want to be a pessimist, but it seemed a bit strange how the wind picked up when Elsa screamed. It couldn't have been Jack – his powers were slightly different from this. I couldn't quite explain it, but something was just _different_ about this snow. I told myself to stop being silly, that I was paranoid, but still. It was unusual.

I sighed internally as I thought to myself; _this is going to be an interesting year._


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back to the world of Hogwarts!**

**In the last chapter, I noticed that the parts where I'd put spaces for paragraphs had disappeared, so to clear up any confusion:**

**The part where Jack and Hiccup were walking along and "suddenly" were at the station, there was mean to be a space there.**

**And when the group were "suddenly" in a booth after Jack had mentioned getting on the train, there was meant to be one there, too.**

**Sorry about that :/**

**I hope you like this chapter, and if I've gotten any facts about Hogwarts or the characters wrong, then just let me know. **

**Lots of love, The Panda**

[Elsa's P.O.V]

The Slytherin Dormitories hadn't been quite what I was expecting.

I honestly hadn't thought it would be in a dungeon, of all places. But to be honest, it was quite comfy down there. It had a cold aura to the place, but it didn't really bother me. There was a noticeboard on the wall, which displayed that week's current password (it kept changing every few weeks; I suppose they – well, we – want to make sure nobody else can get in). There were leather couches, and tapestries of previous (and presumably deceased) Slytherin witches and wizards. A part of me wondered if any of the students in my year would one day be in a picture up on those walls…

I sat down on one of the couches, the one in front of the green flames in the fireplace, decorated with old skulls on either side of it.

The other girls in my house didn't seem to like me very much, as I looked around the room, noticing the glances towards me from time to time. Maybe they saw me as some kind of traitor, for sitting with my Gryffindor sister at her table at the Sorting Feast a few hours earlier (she had very thoroughly insisted). From what I've heard from Anna, the Gryffindors and Slytherins don't seem to like each other much – though I could understand why. The Gryffindors were seen as the heroes, the good guys, not to mention the fact that the famous Harry Potter had been placed into that house. But the Slytherin's reputation was not as great, seeing as so many Death Eaters were from my house. And of course, it was typical that I was sorted into this house…

Gloved hand reaching into my bag, I got out my book and opened it to the page I had gotten up to, pretending not to notice the glances from the other Slytherins. I just wanted to survive school and then get out of here; why would they have a problem with that? The whole "war" against the houses seemed silly to me, especially seeing as how we had much bigger problems on our hands!

The book was quite interesting, but still not enough of a distraction from the atmosphere in the common room. Was I honestly that disliked by my housemates?

I was about to put my book away and go to bed to escape the sour ambience when I heard a familiar voice above me say, "hey, mind if I sit with you?"

I looked up; it was Jack Frost, one of Anna's friends. Suddenly I felt blood threatening to rush to my face but I remained composed. Why this happened, I didn't know. But for some reason I didn't want to question it.

"Oh, of course," I replied quietly, not wanting to be rude. He smirked, and threw himself into the seat next to me. The walking stick he carried bounced next to him, as it settled by his side. He turned to me, and asked, "So, what are you reading, then?"

"_Hogwarts: A History_, by Bathilda Bagshot. It's very interesting."

"Oh? What's it about?"

I turned my head to him, giving him a look.

"Oh, right…" He scratched the side of his head, ruffling his white hair in the process.

_How cute,_ I thought, but then mentally slapped myself. How could I think such a thing? And about my sister's friend, of all people?!

"So," he began again, thankfully interrupting my train of thought, "are you enjoying Hogwarts? It must be pretty different to that French school, right?"

"Beaxbatons? Yes, a bit. But it's fine so far." I told him. I felt a little uncomfortable talking to Anna's friends if I'm truthful, but Jack seemed fine, I suppose. I think he was about the same age as me, which made it a little less awkward.

There was a silence between us for some time, and I found myself not able to concentrate on my book while he sat there, playing with the drawstring of his navy blue hoodie.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed now," I said to him (perhaps a little bit bluntly, now that I think about it).

Before I got up, he said quickly, "you can hang out with us at lunch I you want." I looked at Jack. He looked as surprised as I felt at the sudden outburst. "I mean, if you want."

"That's okay," I said, getting up, and then said quietly, "I should probably try befriending other people besides my sister's friends." I know it sounded bitchy the way I put it, but I didn't want to follow my sister's group around awkwardly; I didn't want to risk hurting them…

"But Elsa," Jack got up, leaning on his walking stick, "we're not just 'your sister's friends'. We're your buddies, too! We…_I_ wanna be your friend." He smiled. It wasn't a smirk, but instead an actual smile. I was taken aback by this, but I still couldn't risk it.

Not after what happened at Beaxbatons…

Before I could reply, a Slytherin 2nd year boy and his friend jumped in front of us. They began to taunt "_Jackie and Elsa, sittin' in a tree_…"

I turned bright red as the rest of the students joined in, and I turned to Jack. He pulled his wand out of his hoodie pocket and swished it in front of the boys' faces. Before I could say anything, their skin turned pastel blue and their noses turned up like pig snouts (but in my opinion they already looked like they resembled little pigs anyway). The boys screamed in embarrassment and fled to their dorm, as Jack burst out laughing.

An older girl, possibly in 7th year, stepped forward. "That was my little brother, you trolls!" She swung at us, and both of us jumped in different directions away from her. Quick as a flash, Jack pointed his wand at her, and her face blew up like a balloon, turning neon green. He blasted the floor and a thin layer of ice appeared under her feet, tripping her up (along with a few people behind her). The girl's eyes bulged in surprise, and in her moment of distraction Jack ran to me and grabbed my hand. He threw the doorway to the common room open, and we ran out as fast as we could.

But that was when we bumped straight into Professor Snape.

We ran into him at such a speed that we nearly knocked him off his feet. He looked at us in surprise, before his face twisted into menacing anger. But before he could grab us, or even say anything, Jack tightened his grip on my hand and we zoomed off down a shadowy hall to the right.

I could hear him breathing as we continued to run down several twists and bends, until we reached a dark and empty hall.

We stopped, completely out of breath and slumped against the stone wall.  
>I turned to Jack, who was wheezing with breathless laughter. I looked at him, baffled. How could he have reacted so carelessly?! He could have hurt someone! He could have –<p>

But...despite everything…it was pretty funny.

We were both probably in so much trouble, but the look on that girl's face…! Slowly, I began laughing with him. At first, in utter disbelief, then, in actual happiness. I'd never get away with doing something like that in my old school!

"Jack, you idiot!" I giggled, "He's probably going to go after us now!"

"Don't worry about it, Elsa!" He looked at me, cracking a grin, "I know just about every twist and turn in this school! The ones only pranksters know about. He'll never catch us. The only one we should be worrying about is Filch and his cat."

"Filch?"

"He's the caretaker. His cat – Mrs Norris – is like a warning signal. If you see Mrs Norris, get the hell outta there!"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because if you're out of bed after hours, he'll give you the worst detentions. This one time, he caught me setting up a prank outside of Ravenclaw dormitories at midnight…I had to clean his _entire_ office…" he shuddered at the memory. "And the worst part is…I didn't even find anything I could use to blackmail him with! It was such a disappointing event."

I had the urge to give him a pat on the back for missing…uh…such a "great pranking opportunity", when I realised with a start that we were still holding hands.

_(A few weeks later)_

[Jack's P.O.V]

"Raaaagh, too much homework for one weekend! I'm just one man!" I cried as I sat next to my best friend dramatically.

Hiccup gave me _the look_, as he closed the book and took it off the Gryffindor table (the Slytherins were still _just a little bit_ angry at me and Elsa, so Gryffindor was more safer to eat dinner on). "Shut up, Jack, you barely have any. There's only a few feet for Potions, and – "

"It's too much~!" I slumped down into him, nearly spilling 'Punzie's cup of pumpkin juice as Merida and Anna laughed. Elsa raised her eyebrow at me, and turned to Merida. Merida simply nodded solemnly, and went back to her food.

"Get off me, you idiot!" He said, shoving me into my own seat again. "Quit complaining and eat your food before it gets cold."

I huffed, "_Fine_, Mother Hen." He simply sighed at my teasing, which made me wonder if I needed to up my game. I eyed him, a sudden idea going off in my mind. "If only a certain Ravenclaw Viking could help me with my incredibly difficult work…"

"Nope. You'll never learn anything if you continue to get others to do it for you."

"Aw, thanks, Hiccup! You're so cool for helping me!" I ignored his denial and put my arms over his shoulders, making Rapunzel giggle even more. I leaned in, threatening to kiss his cheek, as he squirmed and protested loudly, "Jack! Get off! I'm not helping you!"

I pulled him closer – this usually got him to help me eventually.

"Merida, help me!" He shouted, turning a few heads.

"Don't help him," Anna whispered loudly to Merida, making Elsa laugh.

Merida crossed her arms and said, "Yer a Viking, Hiccup! You can handle it!"

I inched closer to him, sticking my tongue out. He panicked when he realised that I was a mere centimetre away from his face. "Ah! Okay, fine, I'll help you!"

"Ha, ha! I win!" I laughed triumphantly, finally letting go of him. He would have helped me anyway, but this was way more fun than just asking.

"I hate you sometimes," he mumbled.

"Aw, that's a shame, because I love you!" I went to give him a hug, but he got his wand out and pointed it at me. Still laughing, I put my hands up and settled back down into my seat.

"You two are just like a married couple, y'know." Anna said to us, which I 1,000,000% agreed with.

"Shut up," Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest, still clutching his wand in case I attempted to hug him again. He's such a dork.

But then again, so am I.

Then, from above us, owls of all colours and sizes flew into the Great Hall and circled around the top of the tables, dropping letters and packages. On the other end of the table, we saw the Weasley's old owl – I forgot its name – crash into the table, exhausted.

"Yay!" Anna cried, holding her hands up into the air as a package delicately dropped into her hands, and she clutched it protectively. At the same time, Elsa caught a light blue envelope that dropped in front of her.

"It's from our parents, Elsa!" Anna grabbed her sister's arm and shook it excitedly, as Elsa reluctantly let it be. She's so sweet…

Wait, what? Did I just think that? I didn't even know her properly! I mean, I want to be her friend, but that's it, right?

Right…?

A Great Horned Owl circled around Hiccup, and dropped a blood-red envelope directly in front of him. We all looked at him as he paled, and slowly took it into his hands.

It was a Howler.

"Do you want me to open it, bud?" I asked him.

"No…it should be me that does it." And then Merida put her arm out to cover Anna and Rapunzel as Hiccup leaned back, opening the wretched letter.

Stoick's voice boomed out of the letter, and nearly every student in the hall turned towards us.

"_SON, HOW ARE YOU?! HOW IS JACK AND YOUR FRIENDS?! THERE HAVE BEEN NO DRAGON INFESTATIONS SO FAR BUT WE'RE PREPARING AS USUAL. MAKE SURE YOU TRY OUT FOR THE QUIDDITCH TEAM, AND FER THE LOVE OF GODS ASK A GIRL OUT FER ONCE. ANYWAY I'LL SEE YOU SOON, AND GOOD LUCK WITH THE TOURNAMENT!"_ and then it exploded in Hiccup's face while the Great Hall burst out into a chorus of laughter.

I gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.

Finally, after the laughter died down (and more letters were dropped to Merida and Rapunzel, Rapunzel's being much heavier than Merida's), Elsa finally asked, "Wait, did your father say 'dragon infestations'?!"

"Uh, yeah. We live near a dragon nest…" Hiccup answered hesitantly.

"What?" Her eye widened, "Why don't you move?"

"My dad's a Viking, so he's…pretty stubborn, to say the least."

"I thought dragons came from Romania." She replied, leaning in.

"Most do, but you get a few where I come from." He laughed.

As they continued to talk about dragons, I gave what Stoick said a thought. I turned to Hiccup and once he finished his sentence I pointed out, "Wait, that did he mean when he said 'tournament'?"

Our group fell silent, until Merida said, "Am I _really_ the only one who knows?"

"What are you talking about?" Rapunzel asked, voicing what the rest of us were thinking.

"It's the Triwizard Tournament, you numbnuts! "She began, clearly shocked that we didn't know. "How could you not have seen the signs?!"

"But the Triwizard Tournament was banned for being so dangerous, remember?" Rapunzel pointed out.

Dangerous? It must be fun, then!

I turned to Hiccup once Rapunzel had said that word. Turning at the exact moment I did (he knows me so well) ~Hiccup simply said to me "No."

"_No_, Jack."

Pouty, I slumped down onto the table, "Fine, Mother Hen."

Merida straightened up and cleared her throat, eager to gain our attention once again. She continued, "They're bringing it back again! I heard they changed the rules a bit to make it more safe – "she looked directly at me when she said that "- but I heard that students from 2 different schools will be coming here! It'll be hosted at Hogwarts! I'm so excited!" She jumped about in her seat, her hair bouncing ferociously around her round face with every movement she made.

"That sounds fantastic, Merida!" Anna jumped up with her in a typical Gryffindor fashion. I doubted there would be any Gryffindors that wouldn't try to compete. That's just how they are. Sometimes I wonder if I should have been sorted into that house…the other Slytherins don't really seem to like me much…

"Anna, don't you think we should be getting to Quidditch practice?" Merida pointed out.

"Oh, dear! Yeah, I wouldn't want to be late! We'll see you guys later!" She said, getting up.

"Wait, isn't it Slytherin against Gryffindor today?" Hiccup pointed out.

"Meh, I'll get there after I finish my food." I shrugged.

Anna shook her head at me, "If you keep being late, they'll kick you off the team, you know?"

"No, they won't," I leaned back, smug. They needed me on the team, "I'm too good to be kicked off. They'll have to wait for me."

"Let the lad do what he thinks is best, Anna." Merida put her hands on his hips, "when has he ever listened to anyone else, eh?"

"Will Eugene be playing?" Rapunzel asked hopefully. Eugene Fitzherbert was a 5th year, and a Gryffindor Chaser on the team, and admittedly pretty good at it (though not as good as me, if I do say so myself). But Rapunzel had a huge crush on him.

"Probably, do you want me to get you an autograph? Maybe pass on a kiss for him?" I teased, which made her blush immensely. Teasing 'Punzie was always fun – she falls for it every time!

"Shut up, Jack!" She said angrily.

"Yep, he is!" Merida cut in, "I made sure he'll be playing tonight – he won't be skiving off anymore, leaving me to be the only Chaser on team again!"

"Well, we better get going!" Anna said, and gave her sister a hug, "See you tomorrow!"

"Good luck, girls. You'll need it!" I said. I was not going to let Slytherin lose this time!

"I'd like to see ya try, lad!" Merida shouted happily, and with that, the Gryffindor girls rushed off to their practice game.

Elsa turned to me, and said, "Well, I'm going back to the common room and complete the Potions essay. I wouldn't want Professor Snape to get angry again." She laughed. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Uh, nah, it's fine. Hiccup'll help me, won't you?" I replied, and Hiccup simply sighed, resigned to his place.

"Okay then…oh," she reached into her bag, and passed me a book. I only just noticed that she still had gloves on. "Here, it's _Hogwarts: A History_. Maybe you can discover what it's about by reading it."

I took it from her and answered, "Ah, thanks. I'll be sure to do you – ah! I mean; that! I'll be sure to do – I'll read the book…" I stuttered. Damn it. I looked down, and felt the blood rushing to face in embarrassment. Since when did I have trouble talking to girls?! Hiccup's meant to be the awkward one out of us!

"…Okay, then. Goodnight, Jack. Goodnight, Hiccup." Elsa said.

"Goodnight, Elsa." Hiccup said to her, and she was gone.

He put his hand on my shoulder as 'Punzie giggled, and stated, "Real smooth, Jack."

"Shut up." I kicked him under the table, and he kicked me back.

I'll admit, that was one of the most embarrassing things I've done (in front of people other than Hiccup, I mean), but as I looked at the book she'd let me borrow, sitting in my hands, I hoped that she didn't think I was a _complete_ idiot.

Trying to put those thoughts to the side, I finished my food.

I had a game that I was not going to lose tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, dear readers :3**

**I hope you enjoy this next instalment – I hope I'm not dragging the story out too much -_-**

**Anyway, here ya go, and if you have any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to see what I can do**

**I'm going to try and have more Disney/Dreamworks characters in this story other than just the main group, so if you have any characters you'd like to see in a chapter, I'll be sure to see what I can do!**

**Lots of love, The Panda**

[Merida's P.O.V]

The skies were dark and cloudy, fitting in with the atmosphere that September usually held when it came by. There was icy rain sleeting down from the heavens, and a thin veil of fog covered the bottom of the Quidditch pitch. But that didn't bother me, as I was already several metres in the air.

The game was about to begin, as the last of us floated into our places. There was a tense feeling in the air; Gryffindors and Slytherins were not really friends – especially when it comes to competitive sports.

To my right, Eugene stood mid-air on his broomstick, both of us facing the Chasers on the Slytherin team. Jack was in line with Eugene, after finally showing up to practice (late, of course). The Chasers that stood to his side was one boy called Naveen and another girl whose name wouldn't come to mind.

The Beaters were stood in front of us; Kristoff What's-His-Face and Astrid Hofferson – the girl that Hiccup has a huge crush on (even if he does deny it every time I bring it up).

Anna, our last Chaser (albeit on the wee side for a Chaser, as they're usually fairly large) stood by my other side. I turned to her, and she looked over to me. We shared a smile, but I could barely see her eyes behind her steamed up goggles.

I looked down; the referee was opening up the large box which held the quaffle, bludgers and most importantly the snitch.  
>And at last I heard the whistle blow as the bludgers flew up into the air like rockets, and the game began.<p>

The quaffle was thrown up into the air, and I looked to Eugene. He looked to me and we nodded. This was our plan.

Eugene takes the quaffle and flies above the rest of the team. I follow at a distance so the Slytherins can't see (hopefully). Astrid and Kristoff keep the bludgers on the Slytherins' side of the field. Eugene passes the quaffle to me. I pass the quaffle down to Anna. Anna scores. Repeat until our Seeker gets the snitch.

I thought of a better plan (well, it was better in _my_ opinion) but everyone else agreed that repeating the same bloody routine would be _so much better_, and I don't wanna risk losing points by muddling up the plan.

I began to head upwards, still watching Eugene closing in on the quaffle much faster than the Slytherins –

But then Jack appeared out of nowhere and grabbed it!

"Hey!" Eugene shouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did you guys want this?" He called out tauntingly, before heading over to the goal posts.

I sneered in anger, my hair blowing in the wind (I probably should have tied it up before the game, but there's no time for that now). I was _not_ going to let that cocky idiot ruin Gryffindor's chance at success!

Oh, trust me, we are friends, just not when it comes to Quidditch.

"What are yer waitin' for?!" I shouted at Anna and Eugene, "Go get 'im!"

They zoomed after him, but it was too late.

Dodging a Bludger with precise accuracy for such a smart aleck, Jack chucked the quaffle through the highest goal, rewarding Slytherin with the first 10 points of the game.

I grumbled at him, and he simply responded with looking back at all the Gryffindors with an air around him that was so smug you could practically taste it. "Come on, Merida! I thought you were better than that!" He laughed.

You have no idea how much I wanted to retaliate to that, but unfortunately the game had once again resumed, and the quaffle was thrown into the air.

Anna zoomed over to it, grabbing it before any Slytherin could even get over there.

_Yes, Anna_! I thought happily to myself. But then I saw a Bludger heading straight for her. But if there's one thing that's definite about Gryffindor, is that our Beaters are not to be reckoned with.

Before Anna could attempt to dodge, Astrid was already over there, and she hit it way over to Slytherin's side, giving Anna enough time to rush away before the Slytherin Chasers could catch up with her. Of course, me and Eugene followed her, making sure she had someone to pass to if those Snakes managed to corner her. I was closer to her than he was, but I was higher. The Beaters were in close range, making sure the Bludgers didn't follow her. She might just get this…

She threw the quaffle…it was going in…

But then that blasted Keeper got in the way! I couldn't believe this!

"Sorry…!" She said as she passed us.

"Don't worry; it's not your fault, kid." Eugene reassured her before I could. He must have been as frustrated as I was, but I was glad he wasn't directing it at her (though I know our captain will want to have a few words with her…)

It went on a bit like this for a while, though every now and then Gryffindor scored instead of Slytherin. Jack didn't seem too pleased when we were only three points behind!

Eugene grabbed the quaffle, while Kristoff fought off a particularly aggressive Bludger. Jack had meant to pass it to another Slytherin, but Eugene caught it just in time. I smiled when I heard him swear under his breath as he passed me, watching Eugene fly off with the quaffle. I trailed him, trying to steer Jack and the others away from Eugene while he had the quaffle without blatching (that's when you purposely bump into another player in order to collide with them and steer 'em off their course).

He looked at me, knowing what I was trying to do, and zigzagged around me. But I wasn't going to be fooled by some amateur stunt, especially by Jack Bloody Frost! If he wants to trick me, he'll have to up his game!

I was behind him, and he turned to me (probably to howl some teasing bluff out) with a smirk. But then, within one flashing moment, his eyes widened, and he shouted, "Merida, look out - !"

I turned to look behind me, my hair blowing against my face and blocking my view in the process. That was when I felt something smash against the side of my face, and before I knew it I was falling off my broom.

Then all I remember is darkness.

. . .

The first thing I thought when I woke up was that my face hurt. Very, very much. It felt incredibly swollen, so swollen that I could barely open my eye on that side. And my leg felt funny.

"Hey, she's coming to!" I heard someone say.

I opened my eyes as much as I could, and found myself in a hospital bed. _What…?_ But then I remembered what had happened.

"You okay there, Merida? You got hit pretty badly with a bludger back there." I looked over to where the voice was, and Anna was standing there, looking pretty startled to be honest.

By this point I'd realised I was in the hospital wing, and around my bed was Jack, Hiccup, Anna and on the other side was Elsa and Rapunzel.

"Ugh, was it bad?" I asked, feeling a shot of pain throbbing on the part of my face where the bludger hit me.

Rapunzel turned to Elsa, nervous.

"Well," Elsa began, choosing her words wisely, "you did take quite a nasty fall…"

I looked down and nearly shrieked.

My right leg was in a massive cast! How had I not noticed that before just now?!

"My leg…!" I began, lost for words. "But…how'll I play Quidditch with…with THIS?!"

"Hey, hey, calm down." Hiccup tried to reassure me, "it's not like your leg is permanently broken – "

"Well it might as well be!" I huffed, "How will Gryffindor be able to beat those Snakes at Quidditch now?! Er…no offense," I gestured to Jack and Elsa.

"Hey, just look on the bright side, now you won't have to face the humiliating defeat when we beat you!" Jack laughed, trying (somehow) to cheer me up – as if that would cheer me up at all!

"You're not helping," Anna elbowed him.

"Look, it's not as if Gryffindor's chances of winning have been completely demolished," Rapunzel said, encouragingly, "We still have Eugene and Anna, and I'm sure there'll be another Chaser to take your place until your leg's better."

That made me feel a wee bit better, I suppose.

"You should have seen Astrid when you fell," Jack said, "She was actually quite upset. Saying all this stuff about how she should have got the bludger before it hit you and stuff. She took it pretty personally."

"Aye…that sounds like our Astrid." I replied sadly. She always took muck-ups much more seriously than most people. "She's always such a serious girl."

"Maybe that's why Hiccup likes her so much." Jack nudged Hiccup in the side, a crooked smirk on his face.

"I don't like her like that!" He insisted.

"Aw, come on, buddy!" Jack linked his arm around Hiccup's neck (probably so he couldn't escape), "You're around friends! You can admit it!"

"I will when you admit that _you_ like E-mmmh!" Jack suddenly grabbed him before he could finish his sentence, though I had an inkling as to what (or whom) Hiccup was about to say.

"Aw, are you blushing, Jack?" Anna laughed. I looked to him, and his pale cheeks had indeed turned a rosy pink.

"Oh my gosh, he is!" Rapunzel pointed out, making the rest of us laugh.

"No, I'm not!" He protested, but it only made it worse.

"Now, now! Visiting times are over now!" Madame Pomfrey came along, making a fuss to move them out of the room. "You can all visit her later!"

"We'll see you later!" Jack waved from behind Madame Pomfrey's form as she coaxed them swiftly out of the hospital wing. "Try not to die in the meantime!"

"I could say the same about you, ya wee devil!" I waved back gleefully.

"Alright, now…" she said, coming over to me, "Broken bones, is it? Well, they're easy to fix…"

"OW!" I roared, after she began the magical treatment. She never said it'd be bloody painful!

She looked at me and said with a huff, "I said it would be easy, not painless."

. . .

[Hiccup's P.O.V]

I woke up to the sound of something annoying tapping on the window in the dormitories.

_What? What time is it?_ I thought to myself, annoyed. I stumbled out of bed in the darkness, and looked to the window, where the tapping was coming from. There was fairy outside. Why would a fairy be tapping at the window? And so late at night (or early in the morning)?

It was quite small, and had bright yellow eyes. The fairy was multi-coloured and luminescent, and it was banging its fist on the glass.

"Wha…Tooth?" I recognised the fairy. Tooth was a little creature near where Jack lives – she likes to follow him around a lot, especially at night. She doesn't follow him all the way to Hogwarts very often though…

That was when I noticed she was carrying a piece of folded paper tucked under her arm. It was huge in comparison to her, but it must have only been about 3 or 4 inches in actual length.

Carefully, I opened the window quietly so I wouldn't wake the others in the room. Luckily this night wasn't windy, otherwise the noise of the wind and the cold would have woken everyone up sooner than I would have liked. Tooth flew into the room, flying about excitedly. "Whoa, calm down there, Tooth!" I whispered to her, hoping her glowing little self wouldn't wake the others up. "What's that you got there?" She pushed the piece of paper into my hand, and I unfolded it slowly. I recognised Jack's screwy handwriting, and held in a long-suffering sigh as I read it to myself,

_Meet me outside the Ravenclaw entrance. _

_And be quick! (and let Tooth back outside)_

Me and Jack have been known to go on "nightly strolls", but I hadn't expected him to set one up so early into this year. Most of the time we just go so he can set up some elaborate prank (and trust me, his pranks could rival the Weasley twins when it comes to destruction and mischief). And sometimes just…well, just to hang out. Jack's a lot more nocturnal than I am, but I don't mind going out at night. There's just something sort of calming about going outside when the rest of the school is sleeping. It's like Hogwarts itself is asleep, in a way.

After I let Tooth back out the window to fly away to cause any form of trouble she can (she's a lot like Jack in the chaotic department), I waited until I was sure nobody had been stirred from sleep by the noises Tooth and I had made. Once I was certain they were all asleep, I got changed and snuck out of the dormitories.

Jack was waiting outside as he had said he would be, leaning on the wall opposite and playing with the walking stick he always carried.

"Took your time!" He said in a hushed voice when he spotted me. "Come on, there's something we gotta investigate."

As we took off, I yawned, "Do you mind telling me what could be so important that you had to drag me out of bed at…what, two in the morning?"

"Two-thirty four in the morning." He said, right off the bat. He always seemed to know the time right down to the minute (and yet he still managed to be late to nearly every lesson…).

"…Great, it's not like we have any practical tests tomorrow or anything…" I grumbled, and realised he still hadn't told me why he had dragged me out of bed this time, "So what made you feel as though you had to bring me along to whatever you're doing this night?"

"Well, I was just finished setting up my most extravagant trap yet outside the Slytherin common room and – oh, don't look at me like that – and I hear the weirdest noise. Like a roar or something. And I thought my good friend would love to investigate this strange occurrence." He turned to me with his usual smirk.

Well, I couldn't exactly turn back now, could I?

Tooth appeared from nowhere and sat herself down onto Jack's shoulder, and we continued to walk down several passageways that most people wouldn't notice unless they were looking for it. This was our usual way of navigating the school at night – the only way we could without Filch catching us.

I finally felt the wind on my face, and we climbed out of one particularly dark passage and into the open.

"Wait," I began to realise which direction Jack was leading us to, "we're not heading…there, are we?" I stopped walking, as Jack continued on. "Jack, stop. This is a really bad idea."

"Oh don't be such a spoilsport, Mother Hen!" He joked, heading straight onwards.

"No, really, this is bad idea - !"

Then I heard a massive roar coming somewhere in front of us. I recognised that kind of roar…

"Dragons." I whispered. But why would dragons be anywhere near Hogwarts?!

"Dragons?!" Jack turned to me excited. "Come on then, Viking! Let's go find ourselves a dragon!" And he ran straight into where I had _specifically_ told him not to go, Tooth trailing happily behind him. I called for him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. He was Jack Frost, of course he wouldn't listen. Yelling in frustration, I ran after him, hoping I hadn't already lost him in there. If he didn't have someone with him that could knock some sense into him, he was going to get himself killed!

So, reluctantly, I followed Jack into the Forbidden Forest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back, everyone!**

**Thank you all for replying and leaving lovely comments, and also; don't worry, I will not give up on this story! I'm too interested to see where it goes to give up now :D**

**Anyway, if you still want to see any other characters in my story, I'll see what I can do.**

**Enjoy, dear readers.**

[Jack's P.O.V]

Oh great, now I'm lost.

I was looking around the dark forest after trying to follow the direction where the dragon's roar came from, and now I have no idea where I ended up. The forest made strange noises, most of which I wasn't sure I wanted to hear (or find whatever made the noises in the first place).

I wasn't _scared_ or anything, but the Forbidden Forest was all dark and creepy; who would want to hand out here?

Damn it, Hiccup was right. This was a stupid idea. And now he's probably lost too. Because of me. Was going after a stupid roar really worth it?!

I knew I had to go and find him, but where to begin? I couldn't see more than a metre in front of me, even when I did cast the Lumos spell. If anything, the spell made it worse, because my eyes adjusted to the light instead of the darkness of my surroundings.

Tooth floated around me, clearly worried.

"Don't worry," I told her, trying not to upset her any more than I already had, "we won't be too long. We'll just find Hiccup and then we'll leave, deal?"

She looked at me, not sure whether she could believe me this time.

Suddenly, a strange rustling started behind us, and with a startled wail, Tooth zoomed off above me, finding a way out above the trees.

I pointed my wand to the bush, very cautious of what might be lurking in there. But then, all that stumbled out was what I think was a Niffler (basically just a cuddly ball of fluff that loves sparkly things). I didn't expect to see one of those in a place like this…

As it bundled away, I came to the realisation that now, without Tooth or Hiccup, I was on my own.

Great.

Well, no time getting moody about it. I had to find Hiccup…maybe I'll see that creature on the way –

That was when I heard a scream far off, behind me. It sounded like…Hiccup?

Was he in trouble? Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!

I ran towards the area where I heard him, but only moments after I heard the creature roaring again, this time much louder than ever before.

Whatever this was, it was not good.

. . .

[Hiccup's P.O.V]

I knew it. I knew this was going to happen.

Jack just _had_ to find out, didn't he? He _had_ to go into THE FORBIDDEN FOREST to find out what monster was making an EXTREMELY FRIGHTENING ROAR. I mean, really? I can't be the only person who thinks that's a terrible idea!

And now, because he was so eager to find this thing, I ended up not being able to catch up with him, and now I have no idea where I am.

Looking back on this, I probably should have just used a navigation spell, but I'm not exactly known for being the type of person who knows what to do during the heat of the moment.

So I wondered around the dark forest, obviously petrified of some monster jumping out and, _I don't know, killing me?_ at any moment, and hoped to gods I would actually be able to find Jack before the sun began to rise again.

And that was when I heard it.

At first, I couldn't exactly determine what it what – it was just a sound. But then I started unknowingly getting closer to it, and I realised that it was a weird moaning, mixed with a rustling sound. Now that sounds wrong the way I put it, but believe me when I say that at the time it was definitely not how you think it sounded.

It sounded like something – or someone – was in pain, so I thought that maybe the rustling was it/him/her/whatever trying to find a comfortable position to lie in or something. Anyway, despite being terrified of what it could be, I found myself edging closer towards the noise.

Whatever it was, I kinda felt a bit sorry for it; its distressed cries made it clear that it was suffering quite a lot.

I looked over a particularly large bush (larger than I was, though that's not hard to be), I found myself looking at a clearing in the tress, and a giant black creature curled up in the middle of it.

I hadn't seen anything like it, and coupled with the darkness that surrounded it, that just made it all the more petrifying. But unfortunately, I did have an annoying sense of curiosity (though not as much as Jack, otherwise _we wouldn't even be here in the first place, would we?_).

Creeping up on it, I realised why I recognised its roar (as I had decided that this creature in front of me must have been the one to cause the sounds).

Not only was this creature a dragon; it was the rarest dragon of all.

This dragon never steals food, never shows itself and never misses its targets.

We call it a Night Fury.

When I realised this, I stopped in my tracks. This dragon is the deadliest of all dragons, and has even earned the title of "the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself". You can imagine why. Even my dad has never captured one of these, and that's saying something. Why was it in the Forbidden Forest? Why did it sound like it was in pain? Why - ?

_Don't waste time questioning it, _I thought to myself, _just get out before it sees you!_

…And of course, when I slowly tried to back away from it, I ended up stepping on _quite possibly the loudest branch in existence._

The Night fury stopped whimpering, and turned its head like an owl to glare at me with gigantic green eyes. I froze in my place, as we stared at each other for a few very intense moments.

Yet for some reason, it didn't attack me.

My eyes finally adjusted to the darkness (as I was thrown off by the light coming from the dragon's eyes) and took a proper look at it (well, as good as I could have, considering the fact that the forest was dimly-lit at best at this time of night/morning).

The Night Fury's body was tangled in chains and ropes, restricting its movement.

"_Lumos maxima,_" I said quietly, my wand lighting up immediately. The dragon squinted, and I mumbled an apology before I could stop myself. _Really? You're apologizing to a dragon for lighting up your wand?_ I thought stupidly.

I held my wand towards it, receiving a wary growl from the dragon. If I wasn't mistaken…it looked like part of its tail was missing.

Nobody on Berk has ever captured a Night Fury, so we don't really have a reference for what they look like but it would make sense if both sides of the end of its tail had fins, wouldn't it? This one didn't have two, though. Maybe it's an injury? Maybe that's why it was moaning…

I edged closer to it, receiving a louder, more feral growl (coupled with an alarming display of its teeth), and I held my hands out instinctively, saying to it, "it's okay, it's okay…I won't hurt you…"

Its squinting eyes looked at me, then to my wand, then to me again. Maybe it thought the wand was a weapon. When I thought about this, I dropped it in a way that would allow the Night Fury to see very clearly that I was getting rid of it.

_What are you doing?! It could attack you! Have you forgotten that it's a GIANT DRAGON?!_ My brain screamed at me. But I had to get a closer look at it. And if throwing my wand onto the grass was the price, then so be it.

I crouched down, my inner monologue still telling me I've completely lost my mind. I was level with the dragon, and only about a foot away from it. It was facing me, and I could feel the heat of its breath on my hands, which were placed in front of me. Each time the dragon took a breath, I could hear a faint wheezing, or whimpering. It must have had quite a bad injury.

I looked at our surroundings, and noticed that some of the trees were split and broken, and that most of the surroundings were scorched black. It must have crash-landed…is that why its tail was injured? That wouldn't explain the chains and ropes, but at least it explained something.

I looked at the dragon, and saw something I had never in my whole life expected to see.

The Night Fury looked frightened.

And that was when I decided that I couldn't leave it here.

Blocking out my inner monologue (and probably a lot of my logic in the process), I grabbed at the web of chains and ropes and began to untie the dragon.

I started by finding knots in the rope and trying to loosen them (resulting in a few painful blisters). The dragon looked at me, surprised (another thing I never thought I'd see), before it actually began helping me. Every now and then, it would lift its head or legs as best at it could to allow me to reach certain tangles or knots.

The chains were unusually heavy to lift off, which made me wonder how it had managed to get itself tangled up the way it had.

Finally, the chains and ropes were off, and I went to turn to it.

Out of nowhere, it pounced on me, pinning me to the cold, damp ground. I remember screaming when I saw the thin pupils in its cat-like eyes get smaller, as the Night Fury narrowed them at me threateningly. It was as if I was staring Death himself in the face – and it was not pleasant.

My chest tightened under the weight of its legs, crushing me into the dirt. I could barely breathe, partly out of that and partly out of shock. It bared its teeth slowly, and I was sure it was going to kill me. My mind went to Jack…was this monster going to find him and kill him too? Was it going to find Hogwarts? What if it got my friends?

And oh gods, I was going to die without even graduating!

It jumped up, and thrust its head millimetres away from mine, and gave the loudest roar I had ever heard in my whole life. I saw into its gigantic mouth, lined with viscous teeth and an enormous tongue.

But then, as I was so sure it was going to ripped my head clean off my shoulders, the Night Fury swiftly turned and ran (albeit with a painful looking limp).

I stared after it, not able to process what had just happened.

After a few shell-shocked minutes, I dusted myself down, and crawled over to my wand. After picking it up, I got to my feet, feeling pretty detached from most of reality.

And after a few steps, my wand slipped out of my hand and my knees gave way. I fell back onto the ground, and don't remember getting up for a long time.

. . .

"Hiccup! Hiccup! Come on bud, wake up!" I heard Jack desperately trying to rouse me back from unconsciousness, and slowly began to come back to reality. The first thing I noticed was how cold everything was…were we still in the Forbidden Forest?

My eyes opened, and I found myself looking up to the starry sky, slowly but surely turning several shades lighter as time went on. So it was still the early hours of the morning…

The next thing I saw was Jack's face, first tense with worry. Then he cracked a smile, once he realised I was awake.

"Whoa, buddy! You really scared me there. You okay?" He scratched his head in a "woops, my bad" kind of way. He held out his hand to me, "So, did you see the - ?"

"The dragon? That's what you're asking me?" I batted his hand away, getting up myself, "You got me to go into the Forbidden Forest, ended up getting both of us lost, you could have gotten both of us killed, and you're asking me about the _dragon_?!"

Jack took a step back from me, defensively, "Look, I'm sorry but – "

"No buts this time, Jack!" I yelled, cutting him off, "And yes, I saw the dragon! You wanna know what dragon it was? _It was a Night Fury_! And yes, it nearly tried to kill me, and no, I don't know why it didn't!"

I stopped, and Jack just stood there for a moment, processing what I'd just said.

"Are you okay - ?"

"NO I AM NOT OKAY!" I shouted. I don't think I've ever been this angry before, at least not at my friends, "And you know what else? Now that there's a dragon on the loose, who knows what it'll do? It's a Night Fury, Jack! What if it finds Hogwarts? We have to tell someone now it knows there are humans around here, all because you had to drag me along to find this thing – "

"Oh, so it's my fault?!" He shouted back indignantly. "You're the one who managed to stumble onto it!"

"I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't dragged us out into the Forbidden Forest in the first place!"

"You didn't have to come with me!" He retorted. If I had been thinking more rationally, I would have noticed that it had started snowing (at least around us two), but at that moment I was too angry to care.

"Then why did you wake me up at _two-thirty four in the morning_," I mocked his voice, "if I didn't have to? I always have to make sure you don't get yourself killed and do I ever get a 'thank you' or 'sorry'? No, I don't!"

"Fine then! I don't need you to look out for me! I'll do just fine without you!" He turned away from me bitterly, crossing his arms.

"Fine!" I yelled back, and I stormed off, making my own way back to Hogwarts. I hadn't been so angry at him before, _ever_. Looking back at this, I probably over-reacted a little. But to be fair a Night Fury _had just tried to kill me_.

As I went back to bed (obviously after I found my way back), all I thought of the incident was that if he wanted to be that way, then I wasn't going to stop him.

. . .

_(A few days later)_

[Elsa's P.O.V]

I looked outside the window of the classroom, as the ghost of Professor Binns continued to drawl out facts in monotone about the goblin rebellions (though I could swear he'd already gone over this last lesson). I had taken notes, and I was trying to listen. I really was, but his voice was just so boring, and when I checked my previous notes from last lesson, I had concluded that he really was just going over the exact same thing we'd gone over last time.

It was snowing again, which calmed me as much as it unnerved me. The wind, which lately had become almost-dangerously powerful, seemed to have become suspended. This allowed the snowflakes to fall delicately from the darkening sky without much movement besides the pull of gravity. The trees were covered in white, as was the ground. Any previous footprints were now filled back up, making the scenery outside seem as if there was nobody alive on the grounds.

I enjoyed the quiet feeling of autumn and winter, yet at the same time it filled me with anxiety. I knew how destructive the snow and especially the ice could cause. And worse still, it looks like I'm the only one who really knows this. It makes my life very lonely…funny how you can feel as though you have nobody even when you're surrounded by people.

At least I had managed to make some friends. I had given up on trying to make friends with the other Slytherins…most of them are very unpleasant, with the exception of a few. But how could I ever really open up to Anna's friends? Or even to Anna? I miss when we were younger…life was so simple…and then I had to go and ruin it, didn't I?

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Jack's pencil brushed against my hand. Out of reflex, I moved so it wasn't touching me, and I looked to him.

He was sitting next to me, with his head slumped onto the desk over his parchment and his hood pulled over his head. For the past 20 minutes he had just been doodling and flicking it back and forth. To be honest, he was one of the only students I'd seen using a pencil…everyone here uses quills and ink. Very old-fashioned, but I suppose that's just the easiest method. Somehow…

I flicked the pencil back towards him, and he smiled in thanks.

I went back to staring absent-mindedly out of the window. I checked the clock on the wall, to find that we still had more than half an hour left until the lesson was over. I sighed, and slumped my shoulders. Then I felt the pencil brush against my hand again.

I turned to Jack again, and he looked at me, surprised (and if I wasn't mistaken, a little bit embarrassed). "I swear I'm not doing that on purpose." He whispered to me.

I laughed quietly, putting my hand over my mouth out of habit.

"Maybe we could make a game out of it," I suggested, "Better than sitting here bored, right?"

I saw a twinkle in his eyes, and he nodded.

I leaned my head on the table like he had, and we continued to hit and tap the mechanical pencil through the space between our heads.

It was actually kind of fun. Not fun as in extravagant, but in the way that it was just a nice thing to do between 2 friends.

Friend…so did I consider Jack my friend? I suppose I did. But lately…I had been wondering about him. I have no idea why, though. I just sometimes catch myself thinking about Jack. I mean, I think about the entire group, too. Rapunzel, Merida, Hiccup…they're my friends though, so it's normal. But there was something different about Jack. Something nice. Granted, he was cocky, playfully devilish at times, and had a knack for pranking people on nothing more than a whim. But he was nice.

_No emotional attachment_, I reminded myself. If I got too close to someone, I'll end up hurting them.

Just like last time.

Eventually, the lesson came to an end, and the students slumped out of their chairs and through the doors.

Me and Jack walked out of the class, side by side.

"Whoa, it's already getting dark," he stated, as we stepped out into the open. The air was cold, but distant, as if the wind was no longer attached to this world.

"Yes, it's like the world's going to bed earlier," I mumbled, still a little drowsy from the mind-numbing lectures.

I heard him laugh, and I blushed. It was a silly thing to say…

"That's a nice way of putting it…" He said to me with a smile. I guess he didn't think it was that silly after all.

He started a new topic, "So…the Triwizard Tournament is coming up…sounds fun, doesn't it?" Headmaster Dumbledore had told us about this at the Sorting Feast. It was quite a spectacle – not really my thing, but who knows? It might be entertaining. I remember Anna and especially Merida being extremely excited about it. When Dumbledore had said that the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving in October, I realised with a start that I might end up having to see the students from my old school again. I was sure someone like Fleur Delacour would definitely be participating.

I saw him staring off ahead of us, and tried to follow his gaze, curious to see what he was finding so interesting.

Hiccup and Merida were walking along in the distance, talking. I think they had just come back from Herbology. Hiccup and Jack weren't talking at that time. None of us know exactly why; they'd both just told us they'd had an argument – they didn't say what it was about - and they were both too stubborn to talk to each other.

They wouldn't even eat together. Jack had gone to Slytherin table at breakfast and dinner. I always sat with him, and sometimes Rapunzel would come and sit with us (even if the other Slytherins weren't happy about it).

I sighed to myself. Boys…

"Why won't you talk to Hiccup?" I asked Jack, "it can't be that bad, whatever it is that you two ell out over."

"Why should I?" He snapped at me. Then he paused. "Sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you. But it's just…" He put his hands in his hoodie pocket, "Why should I be the one to apologize, you know?"

"Well, you just apologized to me." I pointed out.

"Yeah, well – but I did something wrong, then. That's why I said sorry. Hiccup just got angry even though I didn't do anything wrong! I was trying to be nice!"

"Well, look," I began, trying to reason with him, "Hiccup wouldn't just get angry at you for nothing, would he? Maybe you hurt his feelings. I think maybe even if you didn't mean to, you should still let him know you didn't mean any harm." I watched him as he thought about it, and added, "Besides, I can see how close you two are. You miss him, right?"

He looked away, mumbling, "I guess..."

"So, just tell him you're sorry you made him upset and that you didn't mean it, and he'll probably say sorry for getting mad at you. Okay?"

"Well…yeah, I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?" Jack smirked at me, "How are you girls so good at this stuff?"

"It has nothing to do with us being girls, contrary to popular belief." I walked a few steps away from him, encouraging him to follow, "Come on, then, we wouldn't want to be late for dinner, would we?


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello!**

**I'm really sorry about the wait, it's just that I've been distracted with the holidays and now college is starting again. And not to mention an annoying bout of writer's block…**

**I hope I haven't made you wait too long, though. It was just a bit difficult trying to come up with the next chapter. I have a vague idea of where this story is going, but actually getting it there is easier said than done. But I'll do my best! **

**Many hugs, the Panda**

**(P.S. Sorry if I got any of the French words wrong; I was using Google Translate)**

[Hiccup's P.O.V]

It had been raining again. The ceiling of the Great Hall was grey and gloomy, though it didn't affect the other students nearly as much as you'd expect. As usual, everyone was talking, either gossiping, discussing homework or still the upcoming Tournament.

I stared into my plate of food. I wasn't really hungry, and I couldn't stop thinking about that night in the forest. A Night Fury? Here at Hogwarts? It didn't make any sense.

And the way it looked at me…my dad had always told me that dragons are bloodthirsty monsters, but if that was true then why did the Night fury look so scared? A creature like that shouldn't feel fear, right?

Right…?

And it spared me…it could have easily killed me, but it didn't. Ugh, I'm used to dragons not being confusing! Incredibly scary, yes, but not confusing.

Maybe I did over-react a bit when Jack had found me too…okay; I had over-reacted a lot.

I hope he wasn't too mad about that. At the end of the day, he was my buddy; he hadn't wanted the dragon to attack me, and I had to admit that I was – and obviously still am – curious about the Night Fury.

"Hiccup, you've barely touched your food," Anna pointed out, concerned.

"I'm not really hungry," was my response.

"Is it because you and Jack fell out?" Rapunzel perked up, "I'm sure he'll come round eventually."

"It's not that," I lied, not wanting Rapunzel to worry over it, "I'm just – "

"THAT'S IT!" Merida, who had been sitting next to me, suddenly jumped up, making a few students nearby flinch. "You two have not been talking fer too long now! It's ridiculous! Why won't you just tell us what's goin' on?!" Before I could reply to that, she said, "You know what?! If you won't apologize to each other, I'm just going to have t' make you!"

Her hand seized my ear and yanked me up.

"OW! Merida, what are you - ?!" But then she dragged me, still keeping a firm grasp on the side of my head, away from the table and out of the Great Hall.

"You boys are always like this, y'know!" She shouted at me as she continued pulling me on my ear, "Always falling out and being too bloody stubborn to be the first to just say sorry! Viking or not, you're too adamant for yer own good!"

I would have made a snarky reply, but I was too worried about my ear being ripped off to think of one.

I felt the cold immediately as she dragged me outside.

"YOU! GET OVER HERE!" She shouted at someone. I twisted my head out of her grasp to see Jack and Elsa walking together our way. Merida marched out to Jack, and quickly said to a relatively surprised Elsa, "I'll just need to borrow him for a wee bit." Then she dragged Jack over to me with her fist clenched around his ear, the same way she dragged me out.

"Ow! Ow! OW MERIDA LET GO OW~!" He wailed, frantically waving his arms.

When she finally let go, me and Jack were facing each other, with Merida at the side of us.

"Now! Something bad's happened between you two and none of us know what or why because you both refuse to say anything, but that's not what's important right now!" She explained, loudly and angrily. "You two have been friends since you were wee babbies! You canna just have one petty argument and then never speak again. So you - !" She pointed her wand madly at Jack's face, "are going to apologize to your friend and you - !" she pointed her wand at me, nearly taking my nose off, "are going to accept his apology and then yer going to apologize to him! No but's!" She crossed her arms and looked at us expectantly.

Jack scratched his reddened ear, and looked at me with a sigh, "…Sorry. I'm sorry for being a jerk and not thinking. Can you forgive me, Hiccup?"

I slumped my shoulders. "Yeah, of course I forgive you. And I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have over-reacted like that and left you."

"You had every right to be angry." He said.

"I wasn't really angry at you anyway, and I didn't mean any of that stuff I said, either."

He smirked, and Merida said, "Now, shake hands."

"Aw, come on, Meri'!" Jack went back to his joking self, "You just saw how sincere we were – "

"Do, it! Or I'll turn you both into teacups!" She waved her wand threateningly at us.

"Alright, alright! No need for drastic action!" He held out his hand to me with a smile, and I took it. I hadn't realised that after we shook hands he was going to pull me into a bear hug.

"Did you get them to stop fighting, Merida?" Elsa had walked over to us, well specifically, to Merida.

"Yup! And about bloody time too!" Merida exclaimed proudly. Then, she glanced at Jack, and back at Elsa with a grin, "So, should we be expecting a happy announcement by the end of the week?"

"Excuse me?" Elsa asked.

. . .

_(A week later)_

[Rapunzel's P.O.V]

I ran up the tower to the owlery, hoping there would be an owl ready to deliver messages.

I had forgotten to send Mother a letter!

She always gets so upset when I forget to send her my weekly message. In fact, in 1st Year, she sent me a Howler threatening to take me out of Hogwarts!

I hadn't meant to forget, but I just had so much homework that week. It was the fourth week into the school year, and it was so daunting.

But luckily I met Anna after that incident; a lot of the students in the Great Hall had heard the Howler, and they all laughed at me. I was so upset; I didn't know what to do. So I ran to Ravenclaw Tower without even finishing my dinner. But Anna had followed me. I had recognised her from Charms, and she was really nice to me. She cheered me up and made me laugh, and since that incident, we had become great friends.

We hadn't met Hiccup or Jack by then, until around December when Jack thought it would be _hilarious_ to transfigure Anna's bag into a hairy piglet – which she then threw at him. From then since the end of our 2nd Year, those two had officially started a pranking war between each other. Anna has been the only person at school to ever out-prank Jack Frost. Even the Weasley twins found her skills to be impressive.

She doesn't really prank people, though. Just Jack.

Oh, there I go again! Going off topic! Mother is always complaining about me doing that – that's why my letters are always so long.

It was snowing outside, but it was really windy. The weather seemed to want to snatch my 5-page letter out my hands, but I gripped onto it tightly. If I lost this letter, Mother would be so angry with me. She always says my letters get to our home late, which is strange; because I almost always make sure they get to her as quickly as possible.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a problem if she just let me have my own owl…" I mumbled to myself, nearly getting knocked over by the ferocious wind.

I always put my hair into a large plait, but strands of it tend to loosen up and by the end of the day I always have bits flying everywhere. Said strands were flying in my face, making it difficult to open the door to the owlery. I fumbled with it, but hadn't realised when it opened. This caused me to fall flat on my face.

This was not my day…

Pascal, who had been clinging onto my shoulder for dear life, was now on top of my head, trying to see if I was alright.

"Hey, are you okay over there?"

I looked up to find the person who asked, but I didn't see anyone. Then, from among the rows of owls, a head popped out from behind a corner. A human head, of course. And –

It was Eugene Fitzherbert's head.

Then, the rest of his body appeared as he walked over to me, a beautiful barn owl sitting patiently on his shoulder.

"Uh, I – I'm fine, thanks!" I said. I got up quickly, and tucked Pascal into a pocket in my robes; I didn't like the way that owl was looking at my chameleon.

"Hey, aren't you Anna's friend?" He asked, curiously.

"Yeah! Rapunzel!" I held out my hand enthusiastically. Being friendly is always the best way to go, in my opinion (even though Mother would disapprove of me talking to boys).

He took my hand and shook it – his hand was so warm!

"Gesundheit," he replied, and then he exclaimed, "Oh! I knew I recognised you! Your pals are great at Quidditch! You and that Haddock boy always come to watch when Gryffindor plays."

"That's Hiccup, and yeah, we wanna support our friends."

Then, the owl hooted loudly, as if agreeing (I think it was agreeing…)

He pointed toward the barn owl, "Oh yeah, this is Flynn, my owl. I got him before I was even in 1st Year." He scratched Flynn's chest lightly, and the owl rotated his head in approval. Then, Pascal's head poked out of the sleeve of my robes (I had felt him moving about, trying to get comfortable.

Eugene raised his eyebrows at my chameleon. "This is Pascal." I pointed to him, and Pascal huffed at me.

Eugene bent down to get a closer look at him, "Pascal…interesting name…never seen a lizard up close before…where would you even get one from – " Then Pascal stuck his tongue out, and latched it onto Eugene's nose. He gasped, and straightened up immediately. Pascal jumped from my sleeve and curled around my feet to hide from Eugene and Flynn.

"Ah! _Pascal_!" I shouted, turning red, and then I turned to Eugene, "I'm so sorry…!"

"It's okay…" he said rubbing his nose, "he's quite feisty, isn't he?" Then Flynn hooted louder than ever, and Eugene turned to him, "Okay, okay! Sorry, gotta go, Flynn here is impatient when it comes to flying."

"Oh, it's okay," I said with a smile, "I'll see you round!"

"See ya later." And with that, he was off.

Once he was out of earshot, I picked up Pascal from the floor, "why on Earth did you go and do that to him?! What did he ever do to you?!"

Pascal looked at me, an apology in his big eyes. I sighed, "I'm sorry Pascal, I just don't want him to think I'm weird."

I put Pascal on my shoulder, and went to borrow one of the schools owls.

Although I was quite happy with the (very brief) chat with Eugene, I still felt anxious about sending Mother my letter. Hopefully she won't be too mad with how late it is…

. . .

[Elsa's P.O.V]

"…Still kind of sucks that you can't apparate inside Hogwarts." Jack said as he skipped a stone across the frozen lake surface. The stone skidded, and then became motionless as it sat on the lake. Eventually the snow would cover any trace that the stone had even been there.

I was holding the book I had let him borrow, and sitting by the side of the frozen lake on the frosty ground. Normally, we'd be in Potions around this time, but because one of the students had made a horrific mistake in brewing the potion, we were allowed to leave early. It was unlike our Professor to let us leave early, but at the moment the classroom wasn't really the safest place to be for anyone, let alone a student.

Most of the students were inside the old buildings of the school, as most of them weren't really fond of the cold weather outside (okay, maybe "cold" is a bit of an understatement). I didn't really feel the cold as much as other people, and unless Jack was very good at hiding it, he didn't seem to be cold either. The weather was being particularly peculiar lately; some days it would be completely still, as if wind was a thing of the past. Then the next day it would be so fierce it could blow a small 1st Year student away. It was as if it would save up the wind and let it out in spurts every few days.

Jack carried on, "I mean, what about Dumbledore? I've heard he can apparate wherever he wants."

"You shouldn't listen to rumours, Jack, they're rarely true." I replied, putting the old book back into my bag. I couldn't really feel the material very well through my gloves, but I could tell it was smooth, and heavy. Though that was unsurprising, given the size of the book. I had to cast an extension charm on my bag just to make most of my supplies fit.

He threw another stone, and it hit the first one as it skipped across the ice. "I guess so." He sat down next to me, and I could hear the frosted grass crunching as each blade flattened underneath him. His walking stick was resting on his shoulder, and he tapped the side of it rhythmically, making a silent melody. Then he asked me, "Could you apparate at Beauxbatons?"

"No, and I'm assuming for the same reasons you can't apparate here."

He shrugged, and then placed his head in his hands, staring out at the view. "Did you have to learn to speak French while you were there?" He tilted his head to look at me.

"Oh yes. Everyone there spoke French, so I wasn't going to be an exception." I replied. "Can you speak French?"

"Nah. Do you say the spells in French over there?"

"Well, the spells aren't spoken in English. They're Latin, I think. So we just say them the same way you do."

He smiled, "Cool. Could you, I mean, if you don't mind, could you say something in French for me?"

"Of course. Like what?"

He sat up and shrugged again, holding the staff to stop it slipping off his shoulder, "Anything, I don't mind."

I thought for a moment, then decided to just say something obvious. He didn't ask me to say anything interesting. "Il neige en ce moment."

"Cool," he grinned. "What did you say?"

"I said it's snowing."

"What was the word for 'snow'?"

"Neige."

He pronounced the word himself, and didn't actually sound too bad. "What about 'ice'?" he asked.

"That's 'glace'." I said.

"It sounds like the word 'glass'. What about… 'hairbrush'?"

"Brosse à cheveux." I said.

He raised an eyebrow, "That's a lot for one word. Is 'bumblebee' a big word too?"

"No, 'bumblebee' is 'bourdon'." I explained.

"That's cool." And he continued asking about different words and phrases. To be honest, I liked talking about it. It was nice teaching someone about my interests. The French language always sounded pleasant to me. Well, most of the time.

"Tooth?" He asked.

"Dent." I replied.

"What about 'teeth'?"

"You just add an 'S' on the end of 'dent'. Dents. I know it doesn't sound any different when you say it, but it does make a difference when you write it."

"Okay. How about…" He looked around, "Lake?"

"Lac."

"And…'tree'?

"Arbre."

"Hm…" He turned away, putting his hand on his chin. Suddenly he asked, "…How do you say that somebody's beautiful?"

"'Beautiful'?" I repeated, "That's 'tu es belle'."

"Tu es belle…" He repeated quietly.

Maybe Jack was a lot colder than he was making out; his cheeks had gone pink.

"So," he sat up straight, changing the subject, "Why did you move from France?"

"Well," I began, hesitantly, "My parents wanted me to be closer to Anna, because we missed each other. Plus, it was easier for both of us to be going to the same school." Well, it wasn't technically a lie. "And…I guess I didn't really get along very well with the other students." I turned away. It was mostly the girls that didn't really like me. I had a few friends, but we weren't really close anyway. Maybe they just pitied me because I was different, but either way, we weren't anything more than acquaintances. But I did know these two girls who were quite sweet; Belle, a brunette bookworm who was always in a bit of a world of her own, and Aurora. She was a blonde girl, older than me, who from what I'd heard could quite happily sleep through an entire lesson without being woken up.

Before he could say anything about it (I didn't want sympathy), I turned back to him and asked, "What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

He turned away, and didn't speak for a while. I was beginning to wonder if I'd said the wrong thing when he said quietly, "I did."

I wanted to ask what had happened, but I didn't feel like it was a good idea. It was probably – _definitely_ – a delicate subject for him.

After another few moments of silence between us, he slowly elaborated. "I don't really remember much about them – about my family, I mean. I was really little, and we went ice-skating, and…the ice was too thin…" He slumped his shoulders, staring at the frozen lake. "We fell in. Apparently the only ones they found were me and my sister…I was so young, I don't even remember having a sister… When they found us, she'd already…" He picked his staff up, and got up off the cold, hard ground.

"Jack," I got up with him, "I'm sorry, I didn't – "

"It's okay, Elsa," he said to me softly, "I don't really remember them, but…" he balanced the staff on his shoulder again, "I just live with some of my relatives now. Near where Hiccup lives. That's actually how we met. His ancestors were real Vikings, but their village is a lot more civilized than you'd think." He laughed to himself, "They still have to deal with the occasional dragon infestation every now and then, but I live more on the outskirts of the village, so they don't really both me much. The dragons, I mean." He finally turned to me, and smirked. His smirk was reassuring, and I let out a little laugh.

"Hey, maybe we should start heading back," He stated, "It's nearly time for our next class." I hadn't realised an entire hour had gone so quickly.

As we walked back to our next lesson together – Transfiguration – Jack said to me, "So, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be coming here next week."

"Yeah, I wonder what Durmstrang is like." I replied.

"Are you not worried? About Beauxbatons? It's just; you said you didn't really get along with the students there."

"Oh, not really. It'll be fine." I laughed. I'll admit, that was a lie. I didn't like lying to Jack or to the others, but I didn't want them to know. In fact, I was scared about the Beaxbatons; what if they told everyone about…_that_ incident?

But maybe not all the horrible girls will be there…I know Fleur will do anything to be a part of this Tournament, but maybe there'll be some students who weren't too bad. There would probably be a few boys who would participate; one who I wasn't too fond of was old enough to be in 6th Year. I can't quite remember his name – Hans, I think. Most of the students liked him, but I found him to be a bit fake. As well as a bit of a creep.

As we entered the school buildings again, we found that students had begun to make their way to different classes. "C'mon, we don't want to upset McGonagall or Mother Hen by showing up late." Jack joked.

_Mother Hen_. Hiccup. He always showed up to transfiguration early. I guess he didn't want to risk getting on Professor McGonagall's nerves. Well, I suppose good grades and attendance are expected of Ravenclaws because of their apparent intelligence.

So, still a little shocked at what had happened to Jack, and still incredibly nervous at the prospect of bumping into the students at my old school so soon (just when I thought I could forget about it!), me and Jack made our way to Transfiguration.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again!**

**Okay, because this is an AU, I feel like there are some things I need to clear up that I might not get the chance to do in the actual story:**

**Because the story is set in the time when Harry Potter himself went to Hogwarts, this means the world has things like cars and stuff, so the actual Viking days have passed. **

**So, Hiccup still lives in a village (Berk), but it's more advanced and up-to-date (muggles just don't know about it because it has a protection charm over it, like Hogwarts). But despite this, they still don't know too much about dragons – but some dragons come from Romania, while others, well, don't.**

**Anna and Elsa aren't princesses, but they do come from a wealthy Pureblood family. That's how they had enough money to send Elsa off to school in France for so long. But we'll get to that later.**

**Merida isn't a princess either, but she does come from an ancient Scottish family, like how Hiccup comes from an ancient Viking family (so they both have very cool ancestors).**

**If you want to know anything else, just ask! But don't worry; I'll let you know if the answer results in a spoiler.**

**Lots of hugs and gummy bears, the Panda**

**{{Also, Blue Guest 2: Thank you for your lovely review, though what you described sounded more like the Hunger Games than the Triwizard Tournament!}}**

[Anna's P.O.V]

I was lying in my bed in the Gryffindor dorms…I'd stayed up late last night; I couldn't sleep because I was so excited! Today was the day the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang kids would be coming to Hogwarts! It was finally Friday the 30th of October, and after that – HALLOWE'EN! (I mean, I know we won't be going trick or treating like the muggle kids, but still).

But…I didn't wanna get out of bed. It was so warm and cozy…I felt like I could just sleep forever…until I heard Merida's voice booming right next to my head. At least, she was so loud she might as well have been next to my head.

"ANNA! WAKE UP, LASS! TODAY'S THE DAY!"

She pulled my bedcovers off before I could cocoon myself in them. The first thing I saw was her gigantic head of curly orange hair, too bright for the morning.

"Ugh, wha'…?" I opened my eyes groggily. "Meri', gimme back my blanket…"

I reached towards her, but she back away with a smile on her face, wriggling her finger at me. "C'mon, Anna! It's the day the other schools come to Hogwarts!" And with that, she bounced about, getting ready, humming the school's song to herself.

And then it dawned on me, and my sleepy brain set itself into motion. I gasped happily, and sprung out of bed, just as happy as Merida (and much to the annoyance of the other Gryffindor girls – I later realised that Merida had woken me up an hour earlier than we'd arranged).

After we were finally dressed (and after I stopped Merida from bolting out of the door to point out that her jumper had been put on inside-out), we skipped outside together. The brisk winds of the morning made me shiver, shaking off the last bit of tired grogginess.

We had all made sure – well, tried to make sure – to get up early so we didn't miss a moment of the action. We skidded to a halt when we saw Rapunzel sitting on a bench outside Gryffindor tower, her nose deep into a book about stars.

"Punzie!" I ran to her, and she jumped up. We gave each other a long hug, before being enveloped in Merida's arms as well (she was quite tall, to be honest). It was just like Rapunzel to be up before the rest of us!

"Good morning, girls." She greeted us with a smile.

"Where's Pascal? The wee devil is usually nuzzled with you all the time." Merida asked.

"Oh, he's right here." She opened a secret pocket in her robes, and we saw him curled up in a ball in one corner.

"Aw, look at the little baby." I cooed. Then I turned to see the others joining us. "Elsa!" I ran happily to my sister. I leaped and gave her a big hug, and she – mildly surprised – returned it.

"Hi Jack, hi Hiccup!" I turned to the boys as Merida and Rapunzel walked towards us.

"Morning, Anna. And what a wonderful morning it is! A perfect morning for a prank…" Jack rubbed his hands together, a crooked smirk forming on his face – yet another plot was being thought up in his mind.

He had been dragging a still-half asleep Hiccup with him. "Morning, Hiccup." I said.

He grunted, eyes still half closed, and took a flask (where did he get a flask?) out of his bag. He looked cold, tired, and completely done with everyone on the planet.

"Aw, lighten up, buddy!" Jack went to tap him on the head with his staff, but Hiccup reached out his hand and locked the stick into a death-grip.

"Don't. You. Dare." Hiccup warned. "Not. Until. _After_. Coffee."

Jack laughed, "Okay, bud. If you say so."

"So then," Merida clapped her hands, getting all of our attention, "shall we head off?"

. . .

The Great Hall was finally filled up with students just as excited as us. We were sat at Ravenclaw table this time. I was at Elsa's side, while Jack was on her other side (if I'm honest, I think there might be something going on there, if you know what I mean *nudge nudge, hint hint*!).

Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida were sat on the other side of the table, coincidently in order of height – Rapunzel was at one end, only being an inch shorter than Hiccup, who was in the middle, and Merida putting them both to shame by being an entire head taller than both of them.

Hiccup rested his head against the table, and moaned "Why did we have to get up so early in the morning when they're not even getting here until the afternoon?!"

"Because, Grumpy," Jack started, then he paused, and turned to Elsa for an answer. She shrugged slightly and turned to me for an answer.

"Because," I began excitedly, "it's good to get an early start to such an important day!"

"But…the afternoon!" he whined, running his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, stop complaining!" Jack said as he folded his arms, "maybe if you hadn't been up so late last night – "

"_Me_?!" Hiccup exclaimed, "_You're_ the one who made me set up that thing outside the-mmfff!"

Before Hiccup could spill the secret of what must be Jack's latest prank, Jack reached over quickly, shoving a handful of hash browns into Hiccup's mouth.

He gagged and coughed, and once he had managed to chew the potatoes before choking himself to death, he shouted, "You could have killed me, you - !"

"Hold yer horses, laddie!" Merida put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down (I should probably mention the fact that he hadn't finished all of his coffee). He slumped his shoulders, and rested his head on the table again.

None of us could really concentrate during lessons – especially during Divination, where most of us couldn't concentrate because of the choking incense. In Arithmancy, me and Rapunzel couldn't stop talking about it. I wonder if any of Elsa's friends will be coming…?

Come to think of it, Elsa never really told me much about Beauxbatons. We used to tell each other stuff all the time, and I remember being so upset when I realised she was going to another school than me – never mind one in a completely different country! Since she moved away, I no longer had someone to be the Big Sister in my life anymore until I met Merida; she kind of took up that role. But that doesn't mean I can't still have Elsa as my real big sister!

I miss the time when we were younger; I'm not sure why or even when we started drifting apart, and it gave me such a surprise because we'd been so close as kids. But one day, she just shut me out. I don't know what I did wrong, but whatever I did, I was determined to make it right.

I mean, Elsa's at Hogwarts with me now, so I've got plenty of time to rebuild our old relationship. I know I can do it. And I'll make sure I won't make the same mistake I did last time (whatever that was…).

. . .

_(A few hours earlier, a.k.a. the extremely early hours of the morning)_

[Hiccup's P.O.V]

_Jack Frost is going to be the death of me._

That was my first thought as me and Jack – who had woken me up _yet again_ to go on another "adventure" – stood outside the entrance to the Slytherin dormitories.

"Jack, if the other Slytherins catch us – let alone Filch – we are dead. Not just me, but you as well." I whispered, wiping a bit of sleep out of my eye.

"Shh, we're only in trouble if we get caught." Was his logic. I was far too tired for this – especially seeing as we have to get up extra early in the morning.

In Jack's had was a bucket which was filled with all manner of tools (along with a bag of something that smelled funny and looked slimy).

He whispered the password, and we both sneaked in, making absolutely sure not to wake anyone up (they're used to Jack sneaking around, I guess, but if they caught me – a Ravenclaw in the Slytherin dorms – well, they wouldn't be too pleased).

"So, who's this week's victim, then?" I whispered to him, as he crouched down to search for one particular tool.

"Well, that snobby Malfoy kid has been getting on my nerves, and I discovered how hilariously dramatic he is when things don't go his way." He smirked.

Everyone in Slytherin knew about that particular 4th Year student. Draco Malfoy came from a family of purebloods – these were the kind of pureblood wizards that gave the others a bad name. They were spiteful, rude, selfish and everyone secretly knew they were evil. But then another thought hit me, and I pointed out, "wasn't he trying to flirt with Elsa last time we sat at Slytherin table?"

Jack didn't look at me; instead he shrugged and mumbled, "Maybe."

I grinned, "Oh, I get it…"

"Shut up."

"You know, you _are_ my buddy. You can tell me if you have a crush." I crouched down with him still making sure to keep my voice low.

"I don't have a crush. Besides, even if I did, she's Anna's sister. Totally off limits." Then he saw the look of disbelief on my face (it felt like a smirk, but it probably just looked Goofy knowing me). So he smirked and continued, "Fine, maybe. But if you admit that you have a huge crush on Miss Hofferson on the Quidditch team, then I'll admit that I might – _might_ – have a slight crush on Elsa."

I went red. I did _not_ have a crush on Astrid. Just because she's smart and pretty and strong and tough and confident and funny and…and I forgot where I was going with this sentence.

The tool Jack got out seemed to be some sort of lock-pick, and I yawned, "Why don't you just unlock the door with magic?"

"I can't risk making too much noise." He replied, and knelt down to put the lock-pick into the keyhole of the door that lead to the room shared by Malfoy and his groupies.

Every time he made a noise, I jumped slightly. I don't know how anyone could sleep in this place – it had such a creepy atmosphere, especially at night. I mean, I've been in the Slytherin dorms before (when helping Jack set up other pranks) but I never really get used to the feeling. Finally, the door was unlocked, and Jack placed a small silencing charm on it to avoid it creaking loudly.

We tiptoed in, and I looked at the three beds in the large room. Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy's obviously dumb-as-heck henchmen were snoring loudly, and from the bed in the middle, you could see nothing but a puff of blond hair poking out of the bed sheets.

Jack rubbed his hands together gleefully, before turning to me and whispering, "Oh, this is gonna be great. You; stand there, and keep an eye on Crabbie and the other one."

I silently prayed to Loki the god of mischief and trickery that we weren't caught doing this. For Jack's sake, at least. If he was ever caught setting up a prank it would really hurt his reputation.

Taking out a plastic container full of something black and gooey, he set up Malfoy's slippers so they were at just the right angle for Malfoy to wake up in the morning and push his feet into them the moment he got out of bed. Then, trying to contain the snickering that was escaping his mouth, he poured the goo into Malfoy's slippers.

But the lump which I assumed was Draco moved under the sheets.

We both froze into place, until he simply mumbled under his breath and turned over. I quietly breathed out a sigh of relief as Jack continued to empty the container into the slippers. When I took a closer look through the darkness, I realised that the goo was moving. It must be some kind of creature, or at least enchanted slime. Possibly even a reject from a Potions lesson. He got out two more containers and did the same to Crabbe and Goyle (I was surprised the horrid smell didn't wake them up).

Then, Jack came over to me, and reached into the bucket I was holding. He took out a pair of gardening gloves, and another container. He once again tip-toed away and delicately pulled open one of Malfoy's draw (which was full of ugly-looking robes).

He then opened the container, which I realised was full of some weirdly-coloured sleeping frogs. I recognized the colour – I read in a book once that these kinds of frogs are viscous when they feel like they're in danger, and their bites can cause blisters and rashes. Was this a bit too harsh?

Jack must have known I was questioning it by this point, because when he came back over to me to put the container back, he whispered, "Don't worry, they're only young frogs. Their bites aren't nearly as venomous as an adult one. I only really put them there so they'd spring out at him when he opens the draw."

Then, as a finishing touch, he got out two final bottles of something I wasn't quite sure of. The first bottle had a spray attached to it, which he used to spray the substance around the room. Immediately, the ugly smell was gone. He turned to me with a grin – must have been something he cooked up during the summer holidays, on one of the days where we didn't see each other (which was very rare to be honest). It was probably just a potion which either decreases the smell of the room it's sprayed in or it stops people who breathe it in from smelling anything for a period of time.

Then, he beckoned me to walk out of the room. After I was out, he poured the contents of the second bottle onto the floor outside and inside the room. Once the bottle was empty, the liquid became completely invisible. I looked at him, again questioning this.

He quietly told me, "when the goo on their feet touches this stuff, it hardens and so does most of the liquid. Meaning they'll be stuck to the floor for as long as it's in effect."

"Wait, you don't know how long it'll be before it wears off?" I asked.

"Not a clue." He smiled. "I was experimenting when I came up with this."

He stepped over the liquid delicately, and slowly shut the silenced door.

"Oh," he said to himself, and held his staff with a firm grip. He touched the end of the door handle with the tip of his staff, and it froze over with white ice. The ice spread around the edges of the door, making it completely unable to open unless it's melted. I guess he couldn't resist.

He took the bucket off me, and we tiptoed back out of the Slytherin dorm.

Jack could barely contain his laughter, but I was still too tired to do much. It was good that he just let me stand there, holding stuff. Because otherwise I probably would have ruined his elaborate scheme.

"Heh, well," he scratched his head, "you're tired."

"Wow, really? I hadn't even noticed." I remarked sarcastically (to be honest, I was surprised I was awake enough to be sarcastic). Then I stifled a yawn, and failed miserably.

He laughed softly, "Okay, let's get you back to Ravenclaw tower."

"Uh, no. I don't need a guide, thank you."

"If I let you go by yourself, you're going to end up falling asleep in the hallway, _standing up_."

"That was one time – "

"Keep your voice down, and hurry up." He put his hand on my shoulder, slightly nudging me forward.

So we walked back to my dorm, and I said sleepily, "Good luck on your prank; I hope nobody ends up dead."

He waved his hand jokingly, saying, "I do try."

"Well, goodnight, or rather, good morning." And I crawled back into bed, and immediately feel asleep. But all too soon the sun had come back up, and Jack had sneaked into my dorm (somehow) and made sure I was awake again. When does he ever sleep?!

So, all in all, I must have gotten about three hours' worth of sleep that night. Maybe three and a half if I was lucky.

Yay…?

. . .

[Elsa's P.O.V]

The snow had started clearing up, but the frost and sludge made it evident that there had been such cold weather. The sky was clear, and paling as dusk began to take over. It calmed me a little bit, though I was still incredibly nervous at the prospect of seeing the Beauxbatons again (even if Jack was with me).

As the heads of each house lead everyone outside to greet the two schools, I turned to watch the other students. There were several students who had already started shivering in the low temperatures.

I looked over to Gryffindor, to make sure Anna and Merida were okay. There were a few ginger heads in the group of Gryffindors, but none quite as wild as Merida's, making her easier to spot. I scanned the area around her, but still I couldn't see Anna anywhere. I began to worry a lot more now.

"Hey," Jack nudged me gently, "You okay?"

"Uh huh, I'll be okay, you?" I replied.

"Good. It's warmer than I thought."

I raised my eyebrow at him; I know he was wearing a hoodie, but honestly? Even I could tell that it was cold.

"Oi, Frost," a short and pudgy-looking 2nd Year said from behind us, "Move that stick of yours; I can't see!"

Jack didn't bother to point out that the end of his staff couldn't possibly block out the boy's view of the entire sky, and instead he turned and gave me a _look_, which I just laughed at. Then he turned back to the kid and said, "Say please."

"Why should I? Just move it, already!"

Before they could continue with their interaction, a young girl's voice shrieked, "It's a dragon!"

Me and Jack turned to look at the sky, and heard another high-pitched voice reply, "Don't be stupid…it's a flying horse!"

From above, a dozen unbelievably enormous golden horses flew in the sky, a powder-blue carriage as big as a house following it. I recognized them – it was the Beauxbatons.

I gulped, before Jack simply gave me another nudge. I looked at him, my head only tilting a tiny bit (he wasn't a short boy, I was just a tall girl). He smiled reassuringly, and I nudged him back playfully.

Finally, the carriage landed with a tremendous crash, making nearly all of the 1st Years either jump or simply cover their ears.

One boy I didn't recognize jumped quickly out of the carriage, wearing the same type of uniform I used to wear not a year earlier. He squatted slightly to unfold the golden steps and sprang back respectively. From the carriage emerged an impressively large foot which had been placed into a black high-heeled shoe. The high-heel was so big it could have been used as a weapon in battle. I knew immediately who that foot belonged to. I heard a few gasps, which was to be expected, as Madame Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons, stepped out of the carriage gracefully.

Professor Dumbledore began to clap, the students beginning to copy, until our whole school was in applause. The short boy behind us was scowling (as if Jack's staff had any effect anyway…).

Madame Maxime's smiled gracefully, while students began to climb out of the carriage. As expected, Fleur had been selected to be part of this, as had several other girls I had the misfortune of knowing. They all looked at Hogwarts apprehensively, visibly not used to the cold temperature. A few were smart enough to wear shawls or scarves, but not all of them. Then Dumbledore moved closer to Madame Maxime to give her a proper greeting. Dumbledore was a decently tall man, but compared to Madame Maxime he might as well have still been a student.

As they spoke and made sure the horses would be attended to, Jack said to me, "Is there a French word for 'whiny brat'?"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Look at those kids. Turning their noses up at our school like they've stepped in crap or something. Nobody forced them to come here!"

The crowd parted to allow Madame Maxime, followed by the Beauxbatons students, to walk up the stone steps and into the school. I saw then what Jack meant; many of the students looked at the school with such distain that I actually felt a little offended. Hogwarts wasn't as big as Beauxbatons, and maybe more old-fashioned, but that didn't make it inferior to their school!

As they passed, one of them caught my eye. She had very dark hair styled into little sausage-curls, with an extravagant lime green bow at the back. Her nose was particularly long and hooked, reminding me of Professor Snape. I realized then that it was Drizella Tremaine, a very cruel and even sadistic girl in the year above me. She sneered at me, her nostrils flaring, and continued to saunter along with her friends.

"Ugh, what was up with her?" Jack pointed out. Well, at least there was _someone_ who wasn't happy with the Tournament besides me.

I had to be honest though, the experience kind of unnerved me. I didn't really want to go and face them. My experiences at Beauxbatons obviously hadn't made me keen to welcome our new "guests".

Jack must have picked up on this. He nudged me and whispered a particularly silly joke about one of the boys trailing at the end of the group which made me struggle to keep my giggling under control. Ignoring the dirty looks being sent our way by the other students, we continued to whisper and snicker like children.

His giggle was one of the cutest things I've ever heard. He had quite a deep voice for someone so young, which made it even funnier…!

Looking back at this, I realised how nice it was of him to joke with me like this. He must have known I was nervous, so he tried to calm me down by joking around with me. A funny way to comfort someone (no pun intended), but still a very sweet gesture in my opinion.

We were joking around so much; we had stopped paying much attention to the event unfolding in front of us. It wasn't until everyone was pointing and shouting that we looked up to see the top of a ship (and the rest of it) emerging from the Black Lake. When did that get there?

Finally, the ship glided towards the bank, and I vaguely heard the splash of an anchor being dropped into the lake. The thud of a plank was heard after, and one by one, the Durmstrang students came closer to the school.

Dumbledore greeted Durmstrang's headmaster – Karkaroff, I think – just as he greeted Madame Maxime before, and before long, we were all heading back into the school.

"About time, too!" Jack joked as we walked back to the building. "Hiccup, there you are buddy!" We spotted Hiccup at the edge of the crowd.

"Hey, guys…" he wheezed, trying to stand up straight.

Jack put his hand on his best friend's shoulder, "You okay, pal? You look like you ran a mile."

"Hah…Me? Nah…Just fine…Just need to sit down for a bit…Warm weather, you know?" He fanned his face, and he looked almost paler than Jack. I was worried Hiccup was having an asthma attack, but I wasn't sure if he was even asthmatic.

Soon enough, we found Anna, Merida and Rapunzel in the crowd, and entered the Great Hall together.

For the first time, in the middle of the group, I actually felt like I had some real friends.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi, readers!**

**Glad to see you again. Slowly but surely, I'll be putting in a few more characters here and there I'm trying to find a bit where I can introduce Ruffnut and Tuffnut soon). So if there are any characters you'd like to see, go ahead and ask. I'm still pretty much making it up as I go along, so I'd be more than happy for you lot to get involved and extend the story with me. **

**This is really fun to be honest, and I'd love to hear from you. Also, sometimes I wonder what house to place new characters into, so it would be nice to hear your views on the matter **

**Many hugs, the Panda**

[Anna's P.O.V]

The Beauxbatons students were slowly walking into Hogwarts after their huge carriage crashed down onto the grounds, but that was no longer what I was focussing on anymore. I had looked over to the Slytherins to try and see my sister.

She was there, but she didn't really seem to be interested in the carriage either. Elsa and Jack were talking. I was too far away to hear what they were saying, but they looked like they were joking around. Instead of being happy that Elsa was happy, though, I felt a pang of sadness in my heart. I didn't remember the last time we had laughed together. Like, properly laughed and joked, the way other siblings do. I always see other students with their brothers or sisters chatting and teasing and having fun, the way siblings do. I miss that. But Elsa was over there, laughing and being playful with Jack, and I felt that maybe it should have been me that she wanted to talk to. Why didn't she want to talk to me anymore?

What had I done wrong?

I want my big sister back, and the fact that she just wasn't there for me the way she used to be – the way sisters should be – made me sad. I wasn't even angry; I just felt lonely.

I turned to Merida, who was simply munching on a red apple. Where did she get an apple from?

"Where on Earth do you store all your food? You have food with you all the time." I pointed out.

"Oh, come off it! Yer startin' to sound like me mother!" She protested, and sunk her teeth into another part of the apple.

I paused, and looked back over to Jack and Elsa.

"Meri', what is your relationship with your brothers like?" I found myself asking suddenly.

She widened her bright eyes in surprise but then she laughed, "Brothers? Wee devils, more like!" She ran her fingers through her tangled hair, before continuing, "Yeah, I suppose we have an alright relationship. They're my brothers, after all. Why you ask, lass?"

I sighed, "It's just…well…I just missed Elsa when she was away from me, you know?"

"Aw, wee lamb!" She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, her wild curls tickling my face, "I know what you mean. Even though I have a load of fun with you guys, I can't help but miss my brothers when I'm away. But it's alright, Anna. Now Elsa's here, you two can spend as much time together as you want! Well, nearly." She tried to reassure me, but I guess she didn't really get it. "Hey, Astrid!" she turned to the opposite side. Astrid was stood there, arms folded as usual.

"Hey, Merida. Hey Anna." She replied, still watching the Beauxbatons seemingly apathetically. Then she turned to Meri' and asked, "How's the leg?"

"It's fine, and before you say anything, it's not yer fault."

Astrid simply sighed, and as they continued to talk, I looked back at the French students.

That was when I suddenly saw _him_ standing there.

He had a fair build, and was taller than most of the boys, but not in a weird way. He was just the right height. And he had such dreamy eyes, but his sideburns were intense.

I couldn't stop staring at this boy… he was gorgeous!

He gracefully disappeared through the doors into the school, and if Merida wasn't holding onto me I might have followed him in.

"Did you see that boy?" I whispered to Merida, astounded.

"Eh, there are plenty of boys." Merida shrugged.

"They don't make them like that at Hogwarts."

"They make them okay at Hogwarts." Astrid said quietly.

"Oh, do they?" Merida grinned, "Is there any boy in particular that you think was made quite well?"

"Ah, shut up." Astrid shrugged angrily, but I noticed she was blushing a little.

"Aw, come on! You can't just make a comment like that an' expect us to not pursue it!"

The two older Quidditch players continued arguing, but I was still star-struck by the mysterious and handsome stranger.

. . .

[Hiccup's P.O.V]

Okay, I had to see where that dragon was.

Neither me nor Jack had spoken about it since we'd gone into the Forbidden Forest. I was beginning to wonder if I really had seen a Night Fury after all. So, I decided that I had to go and find it.

Yep. I legitimately thought it was a good idea.

I had considered going back at night, but then Jack would be a bit of an issue. I had also considered bringing him, but really? Over-dramatic adventure-seeking wizard with dangerously strong ice powers meeting a rare and injured dragon with dangerously strong fire powers? Nope, not going to happen.

There was also the issue that he might show up in my dorms to wake me up and make me help him with yet another prank, and if he did while I was off looking for a dragon, what would he find? Well, he wouldn't find me. Then he'd get worried, go looking for me, maybe even panic, and before you know it there'll be a manhunt organised to look for me and I'll have to explain to both Dumbledore and my dad that I went into the FORBIDDEN Forest to look for a Night Fury in the dark which may or may not be there.

Not going to happen either.

So, my only option: Go when nobody would be looking for me.

So, that means I couldn't go looking during dinner (unless I lied to my friends about having detention, which I really didn't want to do), I couldn't go most nights because Jack might show up out of the blue, and it's unlikely that I'll be able to go early in the morning because of that same reason.

So when could I go?

That question was answered later that day.

. . .

Herbology was, well, interesting.

Interesting in the way that one girl was almost strangled to death by a plant.

"Jack Frost!" yelled Professor Sprout, "You may consider this class to be a joke, but when a Venomous Tentacula has you in their poisonous grip, I assure you that you will not be laughing. Now pay attention!"

Venomous Tentacula – carnivorous and spiky plants that use vines to catch their prey – were, admittedly, not to be joked around with. I learnt that the hard way; I still have the bite mark from last week on my hand.

"You know what's interesting?" He asked me smugly; though I only just heard him as the girl I was talking about earlier was shrieking a number of colourful words while her partner severed the plant's arms. "I'm pretty sure I haven't seen Malfoy sauntering around school much today."

"That's not at all interesting." I replied, though to be honest it was kinda funny. Nobody really liked him, and he sort of had it coming (even though Jack only did it because the brat was flirting with Elsa).

"Honestly, Hiccup, I'll be surprised if he shows up at all this week. That potion was strong."

"What potion would that be?"

We turned around to see Jasmine, a Slytherin girl with dark black hair and brown skin, leaning on the table behind us. We didn't really hang out much, but when we did talk she always found Jack's antics amusing. But she was kind of in the group of popular kids, and there was a huge drama last year because she started dating this Gryffindor kid named Aladdin – but overall, she was a nice person.

"Ah, nothing. You'll know soon enough." Jack tapped the side of his narrow nose knowingly. I just rolled my eyes.

She gave him a smirk, wanting to know more. "Oh, come on! Who was it this time? Filch? Your girlfriend? Crabbe?"

"Wrong, wrong and – wait, _girlfriend_?!" Jack pointed out, startled.

"You know, the new girl – Elsa Something-Or-Other."

"We're not dating!" He said (maybe a bit too quickly).

"Jackie, come on now. We can all see it." She laughed, "You two would be such a cute couple! And not that I have anything against it, but we were all starting to think you and Hiccup were…" She pointed at the two of us with a wicked grin.

"Miss Jasmine, please go back to your designated Tentacula!" Prof. Sprout shouted from across the greenhouse.

"Well, catch you later, Frost. Tell your girlfr – ahem, your _buddy_ I said hi." And with that, she sauntered away.

He grumbled, muttering to himself.

I looked at him, and raised my eyebrow.

"Oh, shut up." He said to me.

"I didn't say anything." I replied.

The lesson finished, and we left the class with a few more nasty stings to add to the collection of "injuries caused by vegetation".

"I think we have a free period now," Jack pointed out as I looked at my watch, "so now what?"

Before I could answer, we heard a loud, bratty wailing of "OI! FROST!"

Jack turned around, amused, to see Draco Malfoy limping along, closer towards us. Crabbe and Goyle were, like always, on either side of him like bodyguards. I noticed that Malfoy's feet were caged in greenish-black blocks of what looked like ice or glass. And even from this distance, we could tell that he stank – the rancid smell of eggs and rotting cabbage followed him around like a foul-smelling blanket. And his face was like fury.

"Having a nice day, Draco?" Jack nodded at him, and I noticed a bit – well, a lot – of students had begun looking over towards us, interested in Malfoy's outburst.

"This is you, isn't it?!" He pointed to his feet hysterically, which looked like they'd swollen to three times their original size.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Jack shrugged dramatically.

"You know what I'm talking about! How do you get it off, and why does it smell so bad…?!"

"That's just how you normally smell." I said before I could stop myself, causing Jack to burst out laughing.

"AH HA HA HA~! Oh, that was perfect!" He giggled, while Malfoy continued to bore holes into us with his glare. By this point an approximate crowd of students who had been walking to their next class had begun gathering round. Malfoy always had to make a scene…

"How dare you! First you think it's okay to converse with those _Gryffindors_ – " he growled, " – But you even go so far as to prank your own housemates! Now tell me how to get this awful stuff off!"

Jack folded his arms, and shrugged, "Don't worry, Draco. It's a simple reaction caused by a mixture of stuff. It'll just dissolve in a few hours. Not too sure what to do about the smell, though…"

"Ugh, you're just ridiculous! Someone like you shouldn't be allowed in Slytherin!"

Jack took a step forward, and I realised something was up.

"Someone like me?" He pointed to his chest, "And what would someone like 'me' be, exactly?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Malfoy sneered, "A filthy Mudblood!"

The slur echoed, and everyone fell silent. I looked at Jack – it wasn't exactly a secret that he was a Half-Blood, but nobody had the guts to say something that offensive to him. Jack pushed his staff to me, making me hold it as he took a few slow steps towards Malfoy. Finally they were a single foot away from each other.

"Say that again." He said quietly.

Malfoy closed the space between them, and spat, "Mudblood."

Instantly, Jack grabbed Malfoy by the collar of his robes and pushed him roughly onto the stone floor. He jumped onto the blond 4th Year and punched him in the face. Hard. Several people flinched – a punch that hard could have broken something.

"You inbred little - !" He shouted, as Crabbe and Goyle began closing in on the pair. Before they could get a hold of Jack, I grabbed him and started dragging him away – but not before he had managed to slip in a few more nasty punches.

"He's trying to kill me!" Malfoy kept screaming, making way too much of a fuss over it.

"Let go of me! He's had this coming for a long time now!" Jack shouted at me. I didn't let go; he'd only go back and get into even more trouble.

"And here we go…" I mumbled as a few teachers parted the crowd.

. . .

I stood outside Professor Snape's gloomy office, waiting for Jack to finally come out. Snape wasn't exactly the kind of person who'd let you get away with most stuff, but considering the fact that Jack was in his house, maybe he wouldn't get too bad a punishment. Plus, the staff wanted us to make a good impression to the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang students that were coming today, so I doubted Jack would be made to do something too horrible.

Jack finally came back out, and it was about fifteen minutes until end of our free period, which kind of sucked.

"So, what's it gonna be this time?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Eh," He shrugged, "just the usual. Detention after dinner. And to _make sure that the students from the other schools do not, under any circumstances, find out_." He imitated Snape's nasal voice, cracking me up.

"You think Malfoy's going to make a big drama about it?" I asked.

Jack huffed, "Of course he is - or at least he's going to try. If it weren't for all the members of staff trying to make sure the new students will be impressed, Malfoy would probably cover his face in bandages and say I broke his jaw. I wish I had…"

"He really isn't worth it," I reassured him, "Malfoy's just a snobby, racist brat who can't stand to be wrong. I wouldn't worry about it."

"That's easy for you to say," He snapped, "you're not a Half-Blood; nobody makes remarks about you like that." Then he shook his head slightly, turning away. "Sorry."

"It's alright." I said. I mean, yeah, I've been made fun of for being dorky or whatever, but that's not the same as being called a "Mudblood". Jack had every right to be angry; I would be too if a narrow-minded bigot like Malfoy called me something like that.

"Ugly little inbreed…" He mumbled as we walked outside.

We walked outside and sat on a bench in silence; the snow had cleared up more than I'd expected, but it was still cold. Not that I wasn't used to that – I come from Berk; Hogwarts in the winter is tropical in comparison.

"So," I said, changing the subject, "are you gonna go to the dance?"

"Dance?" He looked at me, puzzled, "What dance?"

"Did you not read the list we got? We're supposed to bring formal clothing – dress robes and stuff. Of course there's going to be a dance."

"…Oh."

"You didn't read it, did you?" It was more of a statement than a question to be honest.

"…Nah." He replied.

I sighed, "I guess you're just going to have to tell North to send you something."

Jack laughed, "Uncle North? Picking out dress robes for me?! That would not work out!"

North – Jack's great-uncle - was an incredibly large man with silver hair and a strong Russian accent. He was actually really friendly though, and really strong for an old man (please don't tell him I said he was old). Jack's been living with him since, well, since the "ice-skating incident".

You'd be surprised by how big Jack's family is, but he told me that North was the only one out of them who could take him in. Everyone else said they either didn't have a big enough house, didn't have the time for a kid, the list went on. But North – who lived in this big house just outside Berk – was more than happy to. I think he was on Jack's dad's side of the family.

"Yeah…" I yawned, "I guess it wouldn't be the best idea…so where are you gonna get the clothes?"

He shrugged, tapping a melody on his knee with his wand, "I'll figure something out. I could sneak off to Hogsmeade and see if there's a shop or something…"

A few minutes passed in peace, before I asked, "Are you going to ask Elsa out then?"

He whipped his head round to me, ceasing the tapping of his wand, "What?" He asked in response.

"To the dance, duh."

"Why would I do that?" He folded his arms. Gods, Jack can be so childish at times…

"Look," I said, "You can deny it as much as you want, but seriously. It's obvious that you like her." I held my hand up before he could interrupt, "And she probably likes you too. Maybe. We can all see that you two like each other, so why not? It's not like the world will end if you do. It's just a dance, after all."

Jack kept quiet for some time, before asking me, "Is it really that obvious?"

I nodded solemnly.

Then he said, "Well, I can't ask her any time soon; nobody has even confirmed that there's a dance yet."

"But there's gotta be a dance – why would it say to bring dress robes on the list?"

"You only figured it out because you're a nerd, Hiccup." (Don't worry; from Jack, that's a term of endearment) "You know what? You're right. I mean," He got up from the bench, determined and confident, "What's the worst that could happen? It wouldn't have to be a date or anything."

"That's the spirit." I encouraged him.

But then Jack crumpled, and sat back down with his head in his hands. "Ugh, of course I can't just ask her. You don't just ask people – "

"Yes you do." I butted in.

"Shut up, I'm lamenting." (Oh my gods, what a drama queen) He sighed, "Besides, what if she actually doesn't like me like that anyway? I wanna be her friend, too. I don't want to be 'that weird guy who asked that girl out once'. It would be so humiliating, not just for me. I'd probably embarrass Elsa too." He put his hood up, and curled up into a ball. I hadn't realised he'd been this worried.

Trying to figure out a way to cheer him up, I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey, don't be like that. You're Jack Frost, for Thor's sake! Look," I changed my tone to sound more serious, and said to my pal, "How about we wait for the dance to be announced, and then, if it makes you feel any better, I'll as someone out as well."

He gave me a look.

I braced myself. Well, a friend in need… "If you ask Elsa, I'll ask Astrid Hofferson out. That way, if we both get rejected, we can be 'those weird guys who asked those girls out' together."

He looked up, "Really?"

"Yep, and then if Elsa says yes to you, you can go to the dance together and when Astrid definitely rejects me you can tell me all about the dance the next day." I gave an encouraging smile (which probably just looked goofy, knowing me).

He smiled, pushing his hood back down, "I can't believe you'd embarrass yourself in front of the girl of your dreams for me. Alright then," We shook hands, "Let's be embarrassed losers together, buddy."

. . .

It was finally time to go and greet the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students.

Me, Jack and the girls had originally planned to stay in our group, but that plan was foiled when McGonagall made the Gryffindors group up and keep to themselves as a house.

"Damn," Jack slumped his shoulders as he took off his hoodie (McGonagall had very thoroughly told him it wasn't the correct dress-code), "I should have known we wouldn't have been allowed to hang out together."

We watched Merida and Anna walk along with the other Gryffindors, and waited for the other houses to group up.

Jack tied the blue sleeves around his waist, and wrapped his cloak around himself like a bat, grumbling. He doesn't like being told to take his hoodie off.

"Ah! It's Go Go!" Rapunzel pointed out one of her Ravenclaw friends; a pretty laid-back 7th Year girl with short black hair and a purple streak running through it. We don't really hang out with the 7th Year students that much, but a few of them are pretty cool. Rapunzel turned to me, "I was going to hang out with her for a bit."

"Go ahead," I said, and she ran off to greet the older girl, who was talking to this tall Hufflepuff guy with dark short hair.

"All Ravenclaws come together now!" Called Professor Flitwick, Charms Professor and Head of Ravenclaw house. Then, I turned to Jack and he said, "Go on, I'll go find Elsa. Gimme a hug," He hooked me under his arm, similar to how Merida does, except Jack wasn't strangling me.

"Gay…" Mumbled a snobbish-looking Ravenclaw as he passed us.

"Why yes, we are incredibly happy, thank you for noticing." Jack said out loud to him in a deadpan voice, making the Ravenclaw pick up his pace until he was out of our view. "Okay, see ya in a bit."

I went over to the other Ravenclaws as we made our way out.

Honestly, I wasn't too bothered about the Beaxbatons and Durmstrang students – I was still thinking about the dragon. Yep, just thought I'd remind you that there's A NIGHT FURY STILL IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST…probably.

Anyway, I was at the back, and couldn't see anything even if I wanted to. It was nearly 6 o'clock, meaning they should be here soon.

I had begun formulating a plan in my head…maybe, while everyone is distracted with the new arrivals, I could just manage to slip away and investigate.

I would have to be incredibly sneaky though. Jack's better at that than me...Plus, I'd have to make sure to be back before anyone notices I've gone.

It was a clear day, but still pretty cold. Dusk was slowly beginning to creep over the corners of the sky, and while I was at the back, I realised that if I played my cards _just right_ I might be able to slip away, unnoticed by even the other kids at the back.

I had made sure to hang back just enough to be out of people' views but without being suspicious. Everyone was too busy conversing excitedly about how the other schools would be getting here.

Now was my time to slip away.

Keeping a slow and quiet pace, I began to back away from the others. If I saw a student so much as move their head, I stopped in my tracks and immediately tried to look casual (my casual stance always looked awkward, but whatever). It was surprisingly intense, and I felt sweat beginning to make my palms uncomfortably moist.

I heard a distant voice in the crowd shout out "It's a dragon!"

I instinctively turned around, expecting to see a Night Fury running towards the school. Seeing nothing there, I turned back to the crowd.

"…It's a flying horse!" Said a new voice.

I saw a shape in the clouds; it must just be the Beauxbatons.

Realising I had a very limited amount of time; I picked up my pace (but still tried to keep as quiet as possible).

By the time I'd reached the edge of the forest, I was completely out of breath. Panting, I stumbled into the woods.

Trying to retrace my steps (without getting lost again); I made a note of each direction I took in my notebook. This particular notebook was one I always took with me, so it was filled with random doodles and notes of anything and everything.

After too many minutes of wandering around anxiously, I kicked at the cold muddy ground, frustrated.

I sighed, "The gods must hate me," I muttered, closing the book with a snap. "Some people lose their wand or even cauldron …but no, I manage to lose an entire dragon…!" I angrily pushed a tree branch out of my way, only to have it smack me back in the face.

I cursed, before actually taking a look at the branch.

It had come from a tree which had looked like it had been smashed in with a ship cannon. I'm not even exaggerating (that much). I noticed the ground around it; there wasn't the usual mud and grass. The ground was charred black and covered with burned and broken twigs and leaves, and also one thing which I wouldn't even have noticed if I hadn't been looking so close.

Slowly making my way to it, I realised the thing I was looking at was black and shiny. I knelt down to pick it up and inspect it more, and this was when I noticed that it was shaped a little like a disk, or a scale…

A deafening roar accompanied by a big black blur knocked me back, and I scrambled away.

I finally got back up off the burned ground, and hid behind a tree. I peeked out, and with a silent gasp saw that I had been right all along.

In the middle of a clearing, with a slight limp and a prowling look on its face, stood a Night Fury.

It went to fly straight up, only to somehow crash back to the ground. It tried climbing onto trees and dive towards the sky, it tried running and jumping into the air, it even tried gliding and lifting itself higher with each glide, but nothing worked. For some reason, it couldn't fly properly. What was wrong with it?

I crouched behind the tree, and took my notebook back out.

Using a pencil (because a lot of the time they're way easier to use than quills), I quickly attempted a sketch of the dragon's magnificent structure. I managed to glance at it from time to time, until I finally had a suitable sketch of the creature. Then I took a look at its tail, and made sure to rub out a part of the end – the part it didn't have for some reason. I was still wondering about that…

_Why don't you just fly away…?_ I thought to myself.

I put the scale I found on the page I drew on as a kind of bookmark, and closed the book before putting it back into my pocket. Then, I leaned forward to get a better look, until I heard a _crack!_ from beneath me.

I flinched, and then thought to myself, _Every time. Every. Single. Time._

I had put all my weight onto an obnoxiously loud twig, which had snapped, just like last time.

The Night Fury turned its head to look at me with giant green eyes. I couldn't hide behind the tree; it had already spotted me. I froze in my place, with no idea of what the dragon was thinking when it observed me the same way I had just been observing it.

After a few tense moments, it turned away and scampered up a tree. It then simply lay down on a large branch, and continued to stare down at me, as if it were bored.

Slowly, I got back up, and turned around, before going into a total sprint.

I didn't hear it running after me, which was a good sign, I guess.

Finally, somehow, I had made it out of the Forbidden Forest. But I didn't stop running. I was too pumped with adrenaline to stop now. As I got closer to the school, I realised with a pang of panic that the Durmstrang students must have already arrived. The Hogwarts students were beginning to walk back into the school building, so I picked up my pace.

By the time I had re-joined the group (which thankfully nobody really cared to notice properly) I was panting heavily and covered in a coat of sweat. Ugh…

I spotted the hooked top of Jack's staff, and soon enough he was at my side, Elsa standing with him. "Hiccup, there you are buddy!" He said with a grin.

"Hey, guys…" I managed to reply, and didn't even bother trying to sound casual about it.

Jack put his hand on my shoulder, concerned. "You okay, pal?" He asked, "You look like you ran a mile."

I stammered, "Hah…me? Nah…Just fine…Just need to sit down for a bit…" I fanned my face, "Warm weather, you know?"

He didn't look convinced, but backed off when I gave him a 'we'll talk later' face. Right now I just needed to sit down and drink a gallon of water. Soon after, we found the others in our group, and went into the Great Hall together.

The moment we sat down, I nearly ended up falling asleep. Gods…That had worn me out way too much. I am so out of shape.

All I hoped was that the scale I had put in my notebook – or the actual notebook - hadn't fallen out when I was running. Because that would be incredibly inconvenient.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi!**

**Sorry if this instalment took longer, but now I'm really thinking of where this story might be going, so planning little bits here and there might take slightly longer. Slightly.**

**But, college is out for a week, so I might just have enough time to update sooner than usual! Fingers crossed, anyway.**

**I hope you enjoy, and feel free to give any suggestions to the characters and story – also, I know Ruffnut and Tuffnut were requested, and I'll try to squeeze them in somewhere. I'm sure I can find somewhere for them to appear in!**

**Till next time, dear readers…**

[Elsa's P.O.V]

The Great Hall was filled with excited students, even more so due to the arrivals.

In an attempt to appear more professional, the staff had made us all sit at our assigned tables, meaning that Hiccup and Rapunzel went to sit at Ravenclaw while Anna and Merida sat at Gryffindor. At least none of us had to sit on our own.

Me and Jack made our way to Slytherin table. Then in the slightly awkward disorder of all the students finding a seat, a group of Beauxbatons girls who I didn't even recognise pushed passed me (obviously on purpose).

"Chienne." One of them sneered quietly at me, while the others giggled cruelly. Madame Maxime was too far way to hear them, but I wondered if she'd care enough to intervene anyway.

I didn't look at them; I didn't want them to know I'd heard them.

After they passed, Jack whispered to me, "What was that about?"

"Nothing," I dismissed it, knowing how he'd react if he knew what they had said to me.

"Really? What did they say?" I know he was just being a concerned friend, and I appreciated that. I really did. But I knew it would just get Jack into trouble if he got angry and caused a scene. I wasn't going to let my friends get punished when it was my fault!

We sat down, and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. All I wanted was to just make some friends! Why was everyone always out to make sure that didn't happen? Though I guess maybe something like me shouldn't be around other people.

"Hey," Jack caught my attention again, and I turned to him, "Are you sure you're okay, Elsa?"

"Yes, I'm fine, really." I said. I could see he didn't really believe me, but despite this, he accepted my answer. I was grateful that he respected that as my final answer; I really wasn't in the mood for talking about these things.

As everyone began to settle down, I noticed the odd glare here and there from that Malfoy boy. "What's his problem?" I turned to Jack.

He shrugged, putting his hoodie back on, "Probably still trying to heal his ego from earlier."

I looked at him, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Really, you didn't hear? I'd have thought Malfoy would have spread it like wildfire…then again, Snape told us not to go about bragging or whatever – "

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," I told him as he began to trail off, "What were you told to not brag about?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, and apologised, "Sorry. Basically, Malfoy was mouthing off – no surprise there – and I got mad and I gave him a bit of a seeing to."

My eyes widened, "You hit him?!"

"Sh!" He put his finger over his lips, his eyes flickering over to the teachers.

I didn't really want to pry, but I never really saw Jack as a violent type. So I said, in a slightly quieter tone this time, "He was mouthing off? But he does that all the time. Why was this time so significant?"

He paused, then shrugged again, "He just really annoyed me this time. Don't worry about it."

He smiled, and I found myself blushing.

I turned away, pretending to watch Dumbledore. Why was I blushing so much? It was only a smile! A really cute, really sweet smile…but still only a smile!

_Pull yourself together, Elsa_! I told myself, but that only increased the amount of blood rushing to my cheeks.

The Great Hall quietened once Dumbledore stood up, giving me the chance to ignore the heat emitting from my cheeks.

"Good, evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most particularly – guests," He smiled towards the foreign students. He carried on, "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

A bitterly derisive laugh was heard from the Ravenclaw table, and I bet you anything that it came from Little Miss Delacour – is nothing ever good enough for that girl?

"The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink and make yourselves at home!"

The golden plates and goblets in front of us were instantly filled with food. Some students pointed out a few of the traditionally European dishes in respect to the guests. I recognised a few of the French dishes, but there were a few I had never seen before. I assumed they were in respect to the Durmstrang students.

After a while, the desserts finally appeared on the plates, and sweet scents filled the Great Hall.

"Oh, wow, I've never seen a cake like that before." Jack said excitedly, taking a slice of strawberry savarin. He then turned to me, asking, "It is a cake, right?"

I laughed – not at him, but just at how sweet it was that he wanted to get it right. I know I've said it before, but I enjoy talking about France. I don't really get to talk about myself often. "Yeah, it is a cake. It's actually very nice." I was taking some of the tarte tatin when something caught my attention immediately.

I smelled the air slowly, "What is that delicious smell?" I wondered out loud.

He joined in, trying to figure out what was making that wonderful scent. So for a few moments, we just sat there, loudly smelling the air. Yes, it was as odd as it sounds.

Then in a lightbulb moment, we both blurted out, "Chocolate!"

"Whoa, that was synchronised!" he laughed, surprised.

I blushed – I really needed to stop doing that…

. . .

[Rapunzel's P.O.V]

Wow, the French really do have sweet desserts!

"You'll choke yourself if you gorge on it like that," Hiccup said, peeking out from his notebook.

"But I've never had sorbet before!" I mumbled. This one was raspberry, I think. It was like tangy ice cream – my new favourite!

"Ha, stop lecturing her!" Laughed Wasabi, a 7th Year boy who I sometimes hang out with in the common room. He's really nice. "Let her eat in peace!"

"To be fair, this is really nice," Go Go commented next to me.

Hiccup simply sighed, and went back to sketching quietly in his book.

I leaned over to take a peek, and asked, "Whatcha doing?" But then he held his notebook away from me and snapped it shut. I didn't understand – he usually let me look at his sketches, even the ones that he thought sucked. But he was just being stupid; he's actually pretty good at drawing.

"Eh, it's nothing," he hastily put it in his bag, and went to pick at his chosen dessert.

Pascal stuck his tongue out at Hiccup, while Go Go pointed out that my hair was getting in my sorbet.

Curious; Hiccup isn't really the secretive type.

Once the delicious food was gone, and the golden plates magically cleaned instantly, a now-smiling Dumbledore stood up again, "The moment has come," he said, capturing all the students' attention, "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket – "

I raised an eyebrow at Hiccup, who turned to me and shrugged slightly.

"– just to clarify the procedure which we will be following this year. But firstly, let me introduce, for those who do know them, Mr Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Co-Operation." We all gave the middle-aged wizard a round of polite applause, though I heard a few students ask each other "who?" Mr Crouch didn't care much for the applause we gave him, which made me wonder why we even bothered. He was a really grumpy-looking guy.

The applause died down, and our old headmaster continued, "And Mr Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

Mr Bagman got a much more authentic applause, which could have been for two (or just both) reasons: it could have been because of his history as a famous Beater, or simply because he looked much more likeable. Unlike Mr Crouch, he returned the clapping with a smile and a gleeful wave at the students.

Again, though after a longer amount of time, the applause faded enough for Dumbledore to be heard, and he carried on with his speech, "Mr Bagman and Mr Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament, and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel to judge the champions' efforts." There was a silence at the word "champions", and I could understand why. I was certain that most of the Gryffindors would want to compete in this competition. I sort of wanted to participate, but it seemed a little bit dangerous for me. Besides, even if it was the safest thing ever created, Mother would never let me do it.

Maybe if I did it without her knowing…what she doesn't know won't kill her, right?

No! How could I think of such a thing?! A good daughter would never do anything to hurt her mother! At least, that's what Mother always says to me…

Seriously, she never lets me do anything! You would not believe how much begging it took for me to get her to allow me to go to Hogwarts – she wanted to home-school me, you see. I still feel a little bit guilty, leaving her alone for so long each year. Ah, I keep trailing off, sorry. Mother always says I do that…

I snapped myself out of my thoughts, and turned back to Dumbledore, who smiled yet again. "The casket then, if you please, Mr Filch."

Mr Filch, wearing his mouldy old tail coat in celebration, carried a great big case over to Dumbledore. The case was made of wood, and encrusted with jewels that still sparkled despite their aged look.

I had to kneel on my chair to actually see the thing, as did quite a few other younger students.

"The instructions for the tasks," Dumbledore explained, "that the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman." The casket was placed on a table nearby, for all the students to see. "And they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways…their magical prowess, their daring, their powers of deduction and of course, their ability to cope with danger."

Yep, okay. Now I'm definitely not competing. I'm way too clumsy to compete. Mother always says I'm tripping up on my hair everywhere I go (_though maybe if she just let me cut my hair a little_…I thought to myself), which is why I have to get up early every morning in order to have enough time to put my hair into a plait. It's just way too long to maintain properly, and I can't ever do anything with it because there's too much hair to style!

At the word "danger", the school fell silent, as if the building itself skipped a heartbeat. I turned to Hiccup, and we shared a look. We could both picture Jack's face lighting up at that word, and we knew he'd try anything to be one of the champions.

"As you know," Dumbledore said, "three champions compete in the Tournament. One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector…the Goblet of Fire."

"I've heard about this…" Hiccup whispered to me, suddenly taken a deeper interest in Dumbledore's words, "The Goblet of Fire…I remember reading about it in a book somewhere…"

Dumbledore took his wand out and tapped three times on the top of the casket. The taps echoed around the Great Hall as everyone watched him with baited breath. We watched silently as the lid creaked open loudly, and Dumbledore reached into it. He pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. I gasped when I saw the blue and white flames flickering in the cup, which was full to the brim with it. It looked beautiful.

The headmaster closed the casket and put the fiery goblet on top of it, before addressing us. "Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment, and drop it into the Goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Hallowe'en, the Goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," Dumbledore became very serious, "I will be drawing an age line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line."

Many of the students gave out an upset groan, and I could clearly picture the light going out of not only Jack's eyes but also Anna's and Merida's. I specifically heard one of the Weasley boys exclaim "That's rubbish!" a couple of times before Dumbledore settled us back down again.

He went on, "Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this Tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the Tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the Goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become champion. Please, be sure you are whole-heartedly prepared to play, before you drop your name into the Goblet.

"Now, I think it is time for bed. Goodnight to you all."

. . .

"Bloody age line!" Merida fumed. She was going to be 17 this year, but only after the Tournament would begin, unfortunately. I think that if she wasn't so hot-headed, she would have actually had a chance at winning. "I don't believe it!"

"Oh hush, lass, there'll be other deadly tournaments." Jack "comforted" her, imitating her strong accent.

"Don't try me, Frost. I'll turn yer skinny belly into haggis." She grumbled, pointing her wand at him.

"I was getting really excited about it until Dumbledore said that. Now I'll have no chance of competing!" Astrid, who was walking alongside Merida, moaned. I still didn't think competing was a good idea, but I put my hand on her shoulder in sympathy anyway.

"Rrrgh! It's so unfair!" Merida carried on, pulling at her frizzy hair.

"Why would you want to compete anyway?" Jack said, trying to calm her down, "It's just a tournament, it's not the end of the world – "

"THE TRIWIZARD TOUNRAMENT ONLY COMES AROUND EVERY 3 YEARS!" She exploded, and Jack took a step back instinctively. "IF I CANNE COMPETE THIS YEAR I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO! IT'S. NOT _FAIR_!" She stormed off to Gryffindor Tower without another word.

Astrid went off after her, saying, "I should probably make sure she doesn't blow anything up…"

"Or anyone…" Hiccup mumbled. "I hadn't realised she was taking this so seriously. I'd have thought you would want to compete, Jack." He turned to his friend, the only other boy in the group.

"Me?" Jack smirked, gripping his staff, "Nah, I've read about these Tournaments. It's all hard work and deadlines and I'm all snowballs and fun times."

Elsa giggled, and I saw a little smile twitching on the side of Jack's face.

Hiccup, seeing it too, nudged me and gave me a look.

Jack looked at Elsa, and then looked at me, then Hiccup, then Elsa again. "What did I say?"

Hiccup laughed, giving him a pat on the shoulder, "You didn't need to say anything, buddy."

Jack looked at him, suspicious, "Something's going on here, isn't there?"

"I don't know," said Anna, "you tell us."

Elsa looked at her sister, questioningly, but Anna didn't say another word about it after that.

. . .

[Hiccup's P.O.V]

"Jack I think there's something we're gonna have to talk about," I said to Jack, after we'd walked the girls back to their dorms.

"What, did you ask Hofferson out already?" He joked, until I held up the dragon scale.

He took it from me, and held it in his palm. "What is that…?"

"It's the scale of a Night Fury." I said calmly, though I definitely didn't feel calm.

He looked at me, finally understanding, "You went to see it without me?" He began, "You could have gotten lost, you could have gotten attacked, who knows what could have…_it's a Night Fury_!" He shouted quietly (I hadn't known it was possible to shout quietly until he just did).

"I know, and I'm sorry," I rubbed my forehead, "But I had to go see it, I had to know if it was really what I thought it was."

It was very rare for someone as snarky as Jack Frost to be speechless, and I'm still not sure he can physically cope with not being sassy at the best of times. Clearly, he isn't used to not having anything to say; as he couldn't quite decide what facial expression would be appropriate for this situation. First he looked angry, then confused, then started laughing suddenly, then confused again. He looked mostly confused to be honest. "So…" he said, handing the scale back to me, "What was it like? Was it friendly?"

"Well," I began, "It didn't attack me, if that's what you mean. It's injured, and I don't think it can fly properly. See," I got my notebook out and showed him the sketch I'd drawn of the dragon, and pointed out the tail, "It looked burned off or…something. Maybe it got attacked by another dragon."

"You got close enough to sketch it, then…" He stated, "I guess it doesn't view you as a threat."

"Yeah, and when I found it, it was covered in chains and rope. I don't know why. Was someone trying to capture it?"

"Well, considering how rare Night Furies are, I wouldn't be surprised at someone trying to capture one." Jack replied. Then he turned to me, and said, "Come on! Let's go find it!"

"Whoa!" I grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie, and reminded him, "Remember what happened last time you took off into the Forbidden Forest?"

"Ah, good point…" he said, somewhat disappointed.

"Exactly." I said, then took a quill-pen out (it's just a quill that I fixed up to hold cartridges in, like a normal pen, so I wouldn't have to keep dipping it in ink every five seconds). "This time, we're going to keep track of where we're going." I walked in front of him, towards the Forbidden Forest. He laughed, "That's more like it!"

Yeah, yeah, Ravenclaws aren't exactly known for breaking the rules, but they're not known for housing a large amount of Vikings either.

. . .

"…I remember taking a turn here…and then around here somewhere…" I mumbled to myself, writing down each direction I took. "Pretty sure we're near the clearing…"

"Ugh, we've been walking around for hours!" Jack groaned loudly, dragging the staff on the floor behind him. A trail of ice spread behind him, making the forest ground silver and sparkling.

I sighed, "Just be quiet, Jack. It's been 10 minutes, top."

There were a few moments of silence, which when Jack Frost was concerned, was not a good sign. I turned around to make sure he hadn't wondered off (seriously, sometimes it's like I'm watching over a child sometimes). When I turned around, however, I was "greeted" with an intensely cold explosion of snow.

"Oh, lighten up, Hiccup!" Jack joked as he held another snowball in his hand, "we're here to check on a dragon, not slay it!"

I would have replied with something sarcastic, but before I could even come up with a comment, I saw a familiar pair of big green eyes glowing up in a shadowy tree.

"Jack," I said slowly, staring into the creature's eyes, "Don't look behind you; just come over here."

Noticing the change in my tone, he calmly made his way over to me before turning around to see what I was watching.

"Is that…?" He whispered, as the pair of eyes began to move down the tree.

"I think so." I mumbled in reply, and my assumptions were confirmed when it finally pounced delicately out of the tree, staring at us with its small catlike slits. It was hunched low, and moved calmly and with precision.

Jack quietly lifted his wand at it, causing it to growl loudly at us. I slapped the thing out of his hand, "You're just scaring it," I breathed, not taking my eyes of the Night Fury's form.

"_I'm_ scaring _it_?!" He hissed, but I noticed a change in the creature. While the dragon was still a little on edge, it appeared a little more relaxed after I got Jack to drop his wand. Slowly, I got mine out, and threw it to the floor next to Jack's.

Immediately, it looked at the wands, then at us, and sat up from its hunching position. Its eyes dilated, and its ears twitched. We looked at each other for some time, none of us moving.

"…Hey." Jack called out to the dragon; as if it was gonna say "hello" back to him. It simply twitched its ear again, and tilted its head to the side slightly.

"Uh…" he began, as I stood there quietly, "Are ya hungry? Do you like apples?" He pulled a green apple out of his hoodie pocket, and I mentally slapped my forehead. It was just like Jack to bring snacks with him. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd put a spell on that hoodie to make the pockets bigger on the inside.

He chucked an apple over to the Night Fury, who was stood only a meter or two away from us. The dragon, a little bit suspicious, went over to it and sniffed it, before reluctantly eating it. I hadn't heard of dragons eating fruit. Maybe its injury was making it difficult for the dragon to hunt?

"Uh, okay, that's a good sign. I think. Is that a good sign?" He turned to me, and I shrugged. I'll have to make notes of this later.

"Um…" He reached into his pocket again, this time shoving his entire arm into it. Yep, he definitely used an extension charm on it. He pulled out an odd-looking pink thing which looked a bit like a macaroon. I knew he'd pocket things from the feast, but quite frankly I didn't want to know what that pink thing was. "Uh, Hiccup, do dragons like crab?" He asked me as he held the pink thing out towards the dragon.

"Apparently." I replied.

The dragon looked up at us, taking a few steps closer. The dragon opened its mouth as it got closer to Jack, and all I saw were gums and a big tongue.

"Huh, toothless." I commented, "I could have sworn you had – " but then a row of sharp, pointy fangs shot up out of it gums and snatched the pink thing right out of Jack's hand like a shark. He gave a small shriek, and stepped back towards me before he composed himself again.

"…teeth." I finished my sentence.

"Toothless…" Jack murmured, "That would be a funny name for a dragon. He took another small step towards the dragon. "That's it, there we go," Jack coached it over with more food, as if it were a stray puppy. "Good boy, there we go…Hiccup, you should give him something," He chucked some weird-looking…thing (a green cupcake?) at me. He turned back to the dragon, which appeared a lot friendlier now. "There, there…" We both ended up feeding it with various things Jack had in his pockets (_it appears to like more fishy things than anything else_, I thought to myself).

"Here, try this…grey stuff, it's delicious. At least, Elsa said it is." I snickered, and he glared at me. "Shut up." He said, as the dragon gobbled up the grey stuff.

Well, turns out that Elsa and a dragon have at least one thing in common – they like the grey stuff.

We were both sitting in front of the Night Fury – which we started calling Toothless (he didn't seem to mind – we'd also assumed the dragon was a "he"), and it was comfortable enough with us to relax and lay down like a cat as it ate the food Jack kept taking out of his pockets.

Toothless gave a great big yawn, and I could see right to the back of his gigantic mouth. I had never, _ever_ been this close to such a mighty beast before – at least, not one that's ever been alive. My dad would give anything to be this up-close to a dragon as rare as this. Though now that I think about it, he's probably just try and kill the dragon. Oh, wait.

Oh gods, if my dad found out I'd discovered a Night Fury – _and not told anyone besides Jack, let alone a teacher_ – he'd be so…he'd be upset. Let's put it that way.

"Jack, can you imagine what would happen if Toothless had landed near my village, what my dad would do about this…?" I asked my friend, finally voicing my concern.

"Yeah, we all know what he'd do." Jack said sadly, looking at the creature in front of us.

Toothless was so calm, as docile as a house pet. I couldn't believe a dragon, let alone a Night fury, would be this friendly. I mean, all my life I've been brought up to believe that dragons are wild, vicious, monstrous beasts that do nothing but kill. Night Furies, of all, were the kings of these demonic beasts. The Night Fury is known as the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, yet here one was, literally eating food out of our hands. He wasn't eve nipping our fingers!

"Everything we know about dragons…at least, dragons on Berk…could be wrong." I uttered as the thought washed over me.

Toothless looked straight at me, his pupils now taking a slightly square shape with how dilated they were. He was completely calm, almost serene in his peace with us.

Slowly, I reached out my hand, putting it close to his nose.

Jack was simply staring at us, and the tension in the brisk air was nearly tangible. Toothless let out a quiet growl, and I pulled away slightly. He then stopped, and continued looking at me, a little less suspicious. I took a deep breath, looked away, and straightened out my fingers, holding my hand in front of the dragon. Was he going to just bite my hand off? Was he going to ignore me completely?

Or…?

And then I felt it.

Toothless had leaned forward, resting his face gently on my palm. I felt his scales on my skin, cold as stone, and his roasting breath going down my sleeve, making my skin rise with goose bumps. Slowly, I looked at Toothless, to find that he had closed his eyes for a few seconds.

The dragon opened his eyes, and his pupils contracted back into slits. He huffed at Jack, and swooped back up into a tree to rest.

Me and Jack sat there for a few minutes. I was breathless. A dragon – a Night Fury – had just - ! What was I supposed to do?! What was I supposed to say?! _It was a Night fury_!

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Jack yelled, grabbing me by my shoulders. His bright blue eyes were shining with excitement, and he got up, pulling me up with him. He punched the air, laughing. "A dragon!" He cried, "A gigantic dragon! We fed it! You pet it! Oh wow! Just imagine what the girls will say when they hear about this..!"

"Whoa, Jack, wait!" I called, bringing him back to reason, if only for a few moments. "Maybe we shouldn't tell the others." I blurted out.

"What?" He asked, "Why not? They'd love to know! Can you imagine Anna's face?! Ha, it'll be priceless! Or Pascal picking a fight with our dragon!"

"Jack," I reasoned, "Think about it. It's an incredibly rare dragon, wondering around in the Forbidden Forest. What if a teacher finds out? What if they already know? Do you realise how much trouble we would be in if they knew we'd gone into the Forbidden Forest more than once alone?!"

"Yeah…I see your point…" Jack slowly replied.

"Besides, I wouldn't want to get the girls in trouble, or maybe even hurt. Never mind all the creatures that live here that we've been lucky enough not to encounter – _yet_ – Toothless may be used to us, but four new people? Who knows what he might do?"

Jack frowned, "Well, what do we do? If the teachers find Toothless, they'll probably send him back to Berk or even move him to one of those enclosures in Romania."

I sighed, "I guess…for now, we're just going to have to keep him a secret. Even from the others."

"For now, though." Jack nodded, in confirmation.

"Yep." We picked up our wands and left the forest, knowing it definitely wouldn't be the last time.


End file.
